Former India head coach Ravi Shastri picked India's playing XI if skipper Rohit Sharma is unavailable to play the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 opener in Perth. Shastri promoted Shubman Gill as an opener and gave the responsibility to bat at no.3 to KL Rahul.
"That's a tough one and selectors have a choice,” Shastri told the ICC Review. “You can push Shubman (Gill) back up the order and he has opened in the past in Australia.
“Otherwise, you'll have to then make an alternative. Easwaran hasn't done that well (for India A in Australia). But it's how he's batting in the nets, how Rahul is batting in the nets. But that Shubman Gill option is also there."
Shastri picked wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel over Sarfaraz Khan. He feels that Jurel deserves a place in the side as a speciallist batter, especially after his half-centuries against Australia A.
"I think he can easily play as a (specialist) batter,” Shastri said. “What impressed me most was his temperament, his calmness when the chips were down and the tightness he brought to his game - especially under pressure.
“Under pressure, you can see a lot of players struggling. You can see them being fidgety. You can see them being all over the shop. You can see those nerves coming through. But in this guy's case, his temperament stood out.
"Whenever the chips were down, even in that series against England (earlier this year) he stepped up to the plate. So I like what I saw and I'll be quite prepared to give him a go if he's in good nick."
Jadeja over Ashwin, no Krishna
While there are three spinners in the squad, Shastri feels that either Washington Sundar or Ravindra Jadeja will do the trick. He feels on a track like Perth, it should be Jadeja over Ashwin.
"I was in Perth last year when Pakistan played Australia. And in those conditions, to have two spinners is a luxury. You need pace because that track has pace and bounce. And you need the bowlers to exploit it and keep the pressure on the batsman. Because even if you're talking of spin, you use them sporadically. It was always a tough choice, even when I was the coach," the 62-year-old explained.
"For which one to pick now, Ashwin or Jadeja. So then again, it's current form over there. Jadeja brings a lot to the table with his fielding as well as batting. So he would get the edge more often than not overseas. But it's again how they see it and what the form looks like in the nets.”
Also, he backed Mohammed Siraj amidst dismal form. He did not pick an in-form Prasidh Krishna who can generate plenty bounce from the Perth track.
Shastri's predicted Playing XI for Perth Test -
Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja/Washington Sundar, Nitish Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah (c), Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.
