Ravi Shastri did not name Kuldeep Yadav in his playing XI for the first Test against England starting on Friday (June 20) at the Headingley Cricket Stadium in Leeds while also casting doubt over a debut for Arshdeep Singh. The ex-Indian cricket team head coach made some interesting choices while predicting the line-up of the Shubman Gill-led side in the series opener.

Shastri called for India to play four pacers in the line-up and put Shardul Thakur over Nitish Kumar Reddy for the all-rounder and fourth pacer spot. While the cricket-turned-commentator picked Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj as his frontline quicks, he called for Prasidh Krishna to play over Arshdeep Singh and Akash Deep unless the conditions demand.

"I would go with three fast bowlers, (plus) Shardul Thakur.I know it'll be a tough one between Shardul and Nitish Reddy, but you have to see who bowls how much. If Reddy is going to give you 12, 14 overs, then he might get the nod because of his batting. And the three fast bowlers would be, I would go with Prasid Krishna, I would go with Mohammed Siraj and of course Jasprit Bumrah.

“In Leeds, if it's overcast and it's cloudy, there might be the temptation of going with the left-armer Ashdeep Singh as well. So it will be Prasad, Prasid Krishna/Ashdeep but the other two will be Siraj and Bumrah," said Shastri in an interaction with ICC Review.

As far as the batting unit is concerned, Shastri picked the settled pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul as openers. However, he called for a change in skipper Gill's batting position and slotted him at number four. At number three, Shastri picked Sai Sudharsan and tipped the 23-year-old for a debut in Test cricket.

“It would be (Yashasvi) Jaiswal, and with him will be KL. Rahul, because I think this is a big tour for him. He's the most experienced of the batsmen,” Shastri began as he listed his side.He opened last time when India toured England, got a hundred, (and) had a good tour. So I would hope for him to open the innings. Three, I'll go with the youngster, Sai Sudarshan. Whatever I've seen of him, he's very impressive. This will be good exposure for him, this tour," said

Shastri.

The 193 World Cup-winner also demoted Rishabh Pant to number six while choosing Karun Nair to bat at number five on what will be his first appearance in Test cricket after eight years. Shastri picked Ravindra Jadeja to bat at number seven and also chose him as the lone spinner in the team.

"In all probability, depending on what current form is, it'll be Karun Nair. He bats at five, it's a long time since he played for India. Six will be (Rishabh) Pant. I think he (Nair) has worked really hard. He's just worked his way back into the side. The number of runs he's got in first-last cricket is incredible.

“And I met him during an IPL game. I said, ‘don't just bang the door. Just kick it down and make your way in and walk into that side’. And I think he's done just that. Just the number of runs that he's got has made the selectors look in that direction and give him a place," Shasti revealed.

Ravi Shastri's India XI For First Test vs England: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj

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