Former Indian coach Ashish Nehra suggested India’s third coach in India XI for the test series against South Africa.
The Indian team will be back on the pitch in testing on December 26, when the team face South Africa in their three-game away streak. The series marks the return of many of the top picks who rested or injured for the home series against New Zealand earlier this month.
As fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami return to the squad, pacebowling’s fight for third place in the 11th escalates after a number of pointers produced impressive performances for White. Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Siraj have all made commendable outings lately, adding to the dilemma of team leadership as they prepare for the first test at Centurion.
Former Indian pitcher Ashish Nehra addressed the issue of abundance in Indian rhythmic bowling, insisting that Siraj “might be the guy” who will partner Bumrah and Shami in the first test. “Listen, I think Bumrah and Shami are the two automatic picks in the pace of India,” Nehra told The Telegraph India.
“Speaking of the third playmaker, Mohammed Siraj could be the kid. Ishant (Sharma) got injured and was ruled out of the second test against New Zealand (in Mumbai), while Siraj fared pretty well released in this game.
“But the good thing is how many options India has when it comes to rhythm drumming. They even have someone like Umesh (Yadav), who is now super versed with the number of test sets (51) that he’s played so far.
So that’s a good situation the team finds themselves in. In addition to the aforementioned players, Shardul Thakur is also part of the Indian rhythm attack in the squad but is likely to play the role of a versatile pace-bowing player in the team XI.
