Sunil Gavaskar picks the India playing XI for Adelaide Test

It’s just over a week before the first ball of the first Test match between Australia and India is bowled at the Adelaide Oval. A number of former players from both the countries have started coming up with their respective team’s playing XI for the first match, the result of which will be crucial for the final outcome of the series. After former Australian captain Ricky Ponting came up with his own eleven players to take on India, it is time for former India captain Sunil Gavaskar to follow suit.

The 69-year-old legend recently said that he would pick newcomer Hanuma Vihari over Rohit Sharma, who made a comeback into India’s Test squad after almost a year now, for the Adelaide game. However, when it came to picking up the final XI, none of the two featured in Gavaskar’s list.

Gavaskar picks five bowlers in his team

The former cricketer picked his India XI on Aaj Tak and they included Prithvi Shaw and Murali Vijay as openers; Cheteshwar Pujara at No.3; captain Virat Kohli at 4; vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane at No.5; wicketkeeper Rishabha Pant at No.6 and five bowlers following, in Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

Ishant Sharma, who was India highest wicket-taker in the Test series in England a few months ago, was also not there in the playing XI presented by Gavaskar. Aaj Tak sports editor Vikrant Gupta revealed Gavaskar’s playing XI in a post on Twitter.

Sunil Gavaskar picks his Indian XI for Adelaide Test on @aajtak : Prithvi, Murali, Pujara, Virat, Rahane, Pant, Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar, Kuldeep, Bumrah, Shami – Incidentally no Rohit in Sunny bhai’s XI.

— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) November 28, 2018

The last time India won a Test match in Adelaide was in 2003 when Ponting’s Australia lost despite scoring over 550 runs in their first innings, thanks to a fine double hundred by Rahul Dravid and a six-wicket haul by Ajit Agarkar in the second innings. India had won one that occasion by 4 wickets to take a lead over the hosts – the only time they could do so Down Under even though the Kangaroos squared the series in the next game in Melbourne.

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