Despite replacing injured Rishabh Pant in the whites, wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat has struggled to remain India's No.1 choice behind the stumps during the ongoing edition of the ICC World Test Championship. Since Rohit Sharma and Co. are already without first-choice wicketkeeper Pant and back-up gloveman KL Rahul for the summit clash against Australia, Team India added Ishan Kishan to their star-studded squad for the ICC World Test Championship final.
With India and Australia set to reignite their rivalry in the final against Australia in the ICC World Test Championship, legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has picked the star-studded XI of the Asian giants for the upcoming clash at the Oval. Gavaskar named in-form Shubman Gill as the opening partner of skipper Rohit before reserving the No.3 and No.4 batting positions for veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara and run-machine Virat Kohli.
Will Bharat remain incumbent?
"I will talk about the batting and that will be Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as one-two. No. 3 is (Cheteshwar) Pujara, No. 4 is (Virat) Kohli, No. 5 is Ajinkya Rahane. No. 6 is where there is just a little bit of a concern," Gavaskar told Star Sports. Will Bharat remain the incumbent after keeping wickets for India in the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy? Batting legend Gavaskar has settled the debate by preferring the Andhra star over Kishan.
"I would imagine No. 6 would be either (Srikar) Bharat or Ishan Kishan. They are talking about Bharat because he has played all these matches so far. So will probably stick with Bharat at six," Gavaskar observed. Talking about the pace bowling attack of the Asian giants, the former India skipper asserted that seamer Shardul Thakur can complement the fast bowling duo of Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj in the final. "No. 7 will be (Ravindra) Jadeja. If it's a bright day and a bright prediction, then I think you are looking at Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin at No. 7 and No. 8. No. 9, 10 and 11 will be Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and maybe Shardul Thakur," Gavaskar added.
Gavaskar’s India XI for WTC final:
{{/usCountry}}"I would imagine No. 6 would be either (Srikar) Bharat or Ishan Kishan. They are talking about Bharat because he has played all these matches so far. So will probably stick with Bharat at six," Gavaskar observed. Talking about the pace bowling attack of the Asian giants, the former India skipper asserted that seamer Shardul Thakur can complement the fast bowling duo of Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj in the final. "No. 7 will be (Ravindra) Jadeja. If it's a bright day and a bright prediction, then I think you are looking at Jadeja and (Ravichandran) Ashwin at No. 7 and No. 8. No. 9, 10 and 11 will be Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj and maybe Shardul Thakur," Gavaskar added.
Gavaskar’s India XI for WTC final:
{{/usCountry}}Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.