Ashish Nehra predicts India's bowling line-up for WTC final

Team India will be up against New Zealand in the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC) from June 18 to June 22 at Southampton. Ahead of the marquee event, India will have a selection headache as it will be tough to choose five bowlers from a bunch of talented lads. In the recent past, a lot of bowlers including the likes of Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, and many others have performed exceptionally well in the purest format of the game for India.

With the WTC final less than a month away, former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra picked India’s bowling line-up. Nehra is of the view that the final will be a contest between the bowlers of both teams as both India and New Zealand boast of having world-class bowlers on their side. Nehra lavished praise on Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami saying that the two-seamers can weave their magic on flatter pitches too.

Though Nehra was all praises on New Zealand’s seam attack including Trent Boult and Neil Wagner, he seemed doubtful about Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson. “Of course, both India and New Zealand have very good fast bowlers. But if you look at our bowlers, (Jasprit) Bumrah and (Mohammed) Shami can bowl well even on flatter decks.

“New Zealand’s attack, meanwhile, has Trent Boult and Neil Wagner. Boult is a class bowler, while Wagner too is experienced. However, I am not sure how effective will Tim Southee be where there is not enough swing on offer. Kyle Jamieson is a good prospect, but he does need a little more experience,” Nehra told The Telegraph.

If Jadeja and Ashwin are in the XI, the team will have all bases covered in terms of bowling: Ashish Nehra

The pitches in the English nation are known to favour the seamers. However, Nehra believes that India should go with two spinners and three pacers as the inclusion of Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will bolster the Indian attack. However, if India decides to go with four pacers, then Nehra backs Mohammed Siraj to play the role alongside Bumrah, Shami, and Ishant Sharma.

“If you come across a green top, then you certainly can think of including an extra pacer, which I feel should be Mohammed Siraj given how well he has been bowling. But otherwise, I think the bowling attack should be Ishant, Bumrah and Shami as the three fast bowlers, with (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja as the spinners. If Jadeja and Ashwin are in the XI, the team will have all bases covered in terms of bowling,” Nehra explained.

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