'Kishan over Bharat and either Ashwin or Shardul' - Mohammad Kaif names his India XI for WTC final

With the World Test Championship just days away, India will be under pressure to win the tournament in their second attempt. They have not won an ICC trophy since 2013 Champions Trophy and thus, skipper Rohit Sharma will be eager to end the drought. Ahead of that, the Indian skipper has a tough job to pick the best possible XI depending on the conditions.

Notably, former India international Mohammad Kaif backed Kishan as he believes that the Indian team needs some firepower at No. 6 in Rishabh Pant's absence. The southpaw played an aggressive brand of cricket in the middle-order and won India multiple matches in the past. However, he will not be a part of the team as he continues to reover from the injuries he suffered in a car accident last year.

Meanwhile, Kaif also stated that the team should play either Ravichandran Ashwin or Shardul Thakur depending on the condition. Kaif, meanwhile, also talked about India’s ideal XI for the summit clash.

“For the World Test Championship, the openers should be Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, followed by Pujara who plays at number three and has experience there. At number four would be Virat Kohli followed by Rahane who makes his return to the team. I would play Ishan Kishan over KS Bharat because you would want someone to play attacking shots at number six. Rishabh Pant used to play that role once the ball got old," Kaif told Star Sports.

"At seven, I will play Jadeja and at eight I would either play Ashwin or Shardul, depending on the pitch conditions, and if the pitch suits spin then Ashwin can target the left-handed batsmen like Warner, Travis Head and Khawaja, so it will be a good match up. I would take fast bowlers, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj followed by Umesh Yadav at number 11. This would be my preferred playing 11 because it’s early June, you will need three fast bowlers plus Jadeja and Ashwin or Shardul, depending on the forecast,” Kaif added.