Sunil Gavaskar Picks India XI For 1st Test Versus South Africa

Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar chose his Playing XI for the first match against South Africa beginning on December 26 in Centurion. There are already a couple of big changes in the batting order. The Little Master selected Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal as the opening pair with Shubman Gill coming in at No.3 and Virat Kohli at No.4. KL Rahul was his wicketkeeping choice along with Shreyas Iyer accompanying him in the middle order. Gavaskar stated that both KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer play crucial roles in the team and will depend on the game's condition who bats at No.5 and No.6.

Gavaskar chose both the spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and among pacers, he picked India’s prime pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj with youngster Mukesh Kumar being his third choice. 

In the meantime, Gaikwad has been ruled out of the forthcoming two-match Test series against South Africa, the Indian Cricket Council declared on Saturday.  

The inaugural Test match between India and South Africa will begin on Boxing Day at the Centurion with the second and final game scheduled to be played at Capetown on January 3. 

Gaikwad succumbed to an injury in his ring finger while fielding in the second ODI against South Africa in Gqeberha. Later on he was ruled out of the remainder of the tour following expert consultation from the Indian Cricket Council. Abhimanyu Easwaran replaced Gaikwad in the squad. 

"He will be reporting to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for further management of his injury. The Men's Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement," a statement from the Indian Cricket Council read.

Rajat Patidar was the replacement of the young Indian opener when he was benched due to some finger damage in the final ODI of the South Africa series. 

"(He) hasn't fully recovered from the blow he sustained to his ring finger while fielding in the second ODI. He remains under the supervision of the BCCI Medical Team," the Indian board stated before the commencement of the third and final ODI match on Thursday.

Gavaskar's India Playing XI in 1st Test match versus South Africa:

Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.