Rohit Sharma likely to field same playing11 for India: Indian captain Rohit Sharma appeared cool as ever and unfazed by Team India’s defeat in the first test against South Africa as he walked in for the pre-match press conference for the 2nd test. Though the Indian side faced criticism for their underpower show in the opening test, the Indian captain stressed showing faith in the youngsters.
Team India had multiple issues during the first test in the Centurian. The lively grass scrutinised the Indian batters comprehensively while when it comes to the bowling department, the Indian pacers were not as good as the Proteas were on the same pitch.
The team felt the lack of experience in its bowling unit as well. Particularly, the likes of debutant Prasidh Krishna and all-rounder Shardul Thakur couldn’t find their rhythm throughout the game, which ended inside three days.
However, despite such a dull outing in the first test, Indian captain Rohit Sharma believes in backing players and providing them with enough opportunities to prove their worth in gold.
“Honestly, I haven’t thought too much about that (pace bowling changes) although we have briefly chatted with the management and the coaching staff. We’ve not completely finalised our playing XI. Obviously, everyone is available for selection. There are no injury concerns. We’ll sit down in the evening and decide what is the right one. I still feel that sometimes when you have inexperience in your attack, we have that, you have to show some faith,” said the Indian captain during the pre-match conference.
Debutant Prasidh Krishna bowled 20 overs in the first test in which he conceded 90 runs at an expensive economy of 4.70, though he managed to scalp his maiden wicket trapping opposition wicketkeeper batter Kyle Verreynne.
Meanwhile, Shardul Thakur had an even worse outing as he conceded runs at an economy of 5.30. He too got a wicket to his name.
“That can happen to any team. Like I said in the last post-match press conference about Prasidh playing his first game, we all get nervous when you are playing your first game. I will still back that thought of mine that he has got good ability to succeed at this level, especially in this format. It’s just about showing faith and trust in everyone, and getting the job done from them.”
Team India’s playing11 for the India vs South Africa 2nd test is largely expected to be the same. The only change the team will make is bringing in all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for R Ashwin.
Jadeja suffered back spasms ahead of the first test and was unavailable for the game. However, as the captain himself asserts that all the players are available, the all-rounder should be back into the playing11.
Below is Team India’s complete playing11 for 2nd test against South Africa:
India’s Playing11: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
ALSO READ: SA vs IND: 2 Changes India can make for 2nd Test against South Africa suggested by Irfan Pathan
For more details head to ICC’s official website.