Team India’s best Test XI of the year

Team India’s Test calendar of 2021 was quite busy. It started with two Test matches left in India tour of Australia in 2020/21 in January. In February-March, England toured India to play four Tests. After these matches, India went to England to play the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. After the final, India played four Test matches against England in England, and the fifth Test match got canceled due to Covid-19 Pandemic. In November 2021, New Zealand came to India to play two Test matches.

Some of the players on the Indian side were phenomenal while some of them were underperformed. Some played well but not according to their own standards while some were surprise packages. Nevertheless, India were very dominant in the number of Test matches they played. India played a total of 13 matches this year and won 8 of them and lost three of them while two matches ended up in a draw.

Rohit Sharma was the leading run-scorer with 906 runs in 11 games among Indians in Tests in 2021 while Ravichandran Ashwin was the leading wicket-taker with 52 wickets in 8 games. KL Rahul announced his return to the longest format scoring 315 runs in four games. Virat Kohli scored runs but again he was deprived of a three-figure mark. While Pujara and Rahane’s performances were very ordinary. Hence, let’s take a look at-

Best Test XI of India in 2021

1. Rohit Sharma

Rohit had an amazing year scoring 906 runs in 21 innings of 11 matches he played with an average of 47.68 scoring two brilliant hundreds one of which was on English soil against the Englishmen. The day he started opening the innings in the ultimate format, we saw a new version of Rohit Sharma scoring runs everywhere.

The Mumbai opener was brilliant when India toured England right after the World Test Championship final scoring two fifties and one hundred. He looked very comfortable and showed everyone that he can be a superb three-format player. He closed the mouth of many criticizers with his bat.

He was rested in the New Zealand series and might not play the Test match against South Africa later this year, otherwise, one thousand runs in the calendar year were absolutely under his control.

2. KL Rahul

KL Rahul only played four out of 13 games that India played and all of them came in one series but he was that brilliant this year that he is better than many others. He was the replacement for the middle order in the England series but the two injuries (Gill and Agarwal) made him open the innings for India.

He grabbed the opportunity by scoring 315 runs in 8 innings with an average of 39.38. He scored a brilliant hundred at the Mecca of cricket and got his name written on the Lord’s legendary honor’s board. He was very consistent throughout the series.

With this performance, he ensured his long career in Test cricket and secured the opening spot in the Indian playing XI. With the South Africa series coming up, all eyes will be on the batter that how he will live up to the expectations of fans.

3. Chesteshwar Pujara

Pujara’s performances were not that good for the whole year but he is one of the most important players on the Test side. His ability to keep one side with his defensive skills has been helpful for India many times. He kept one side safe in the famous Gabba Test and made good partnerships with Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant.

Pujara has played all the 13 matches in which he scored 686 runs with an average of 29.83. The experienced batter has played some good knocks. He is the one to score most fifties in Test cricket this year scoring six fifties.

The Saurashtra batter will surely bounce back in the South Africa tour and hopefully, fans will be able to see the old Chesteshwar Pujara a.k.a. The Whitewalker. Who can forget how Pujara fought to let India win the Gabba Test.

4. Virat Kohli (c)

The modern-day great, Virat Kohli is the biggest pillar of the Indian batting line-up for the last seven-eight years. He is the most consistent all-format player. But in the last couple of years, his career has seen a downfall. His last international ton was way back in 2019 and he is yet to score a hundred from the beginning of the previous year.

In 2021, the classy batter has scored 483 runs in 10 matches he played with an average of 28.41. These numbers are not of the Virat Kohli fans know. There is no doubt that the run-machine will make the next year his own. A player of his class is very rare.

Virat Kohli- the batter’s year has not been so great but Virat Kohli- the captain had a terrific year winning six out of the 10 test matches he captained. His side managed to take the lead in the England series on their home soil and won the home Test series against England and New Zealand. Now it will be interesting to see that what wonders Virat Kohli does in the coming South Africa tour.

5. Rishabh Pant (WK)

Rishabh Pant is the leading run-scorer in 2021 Tests among the wicketkeepers. He was also India’s second-highest run-scorer in Tests this year after Rohit Sharma. He scored 706 runs in 11 games with an average of 41.53.

Who can forget the heroics of the Southpaw at the Gabba? He was the first ICC player of the month in 2021. He scored a hundred against England on his home soil in March 2021 and scored five fifties throughout the year.

The Delhi cricketer has also improved his wicketkeeping skills a lot. He had 32 dismissals throughout the year which makes him feature in the most dismissals by wicketkeepers’ list of 2021. 26 of those 32 were catches and six were stumpings.

6. Ravindra Jadeja

Ravindra Jadeja also had a decent year. He has evolved as an all-rounder, there were no doubts about his bowling but the way he is batting nowadays, he is spitting fire. He scored 269 runs in 12 innings of 7 Test matches he played scoring two brilliant fifties. He batted beautifully in the England series and is very promising that he can even bat up the order.

The Southpaw was brilliant with the ball too, he picked 16 wickets this year with a bowling average of 29.75. He is now one of the most experienced guys in the Indian line-up and is very effective when the pitch has some turns. He loves the rough patches on the pitches.

The all-rounder is undoubtedly one of the best fielders around the globe. His bullet throws are enough to threaten the batters to run between the wickets. He is not available for the South Africa tour but he will be an asset for team India in the coming years.

7. Ravi Ashwin

The leading Test wicket-taker of the year. Ravi Ashwin had a phenomenal year picking up 52 wickets in eight Test matches with an incredible bowling average of 16.23. He was the only bowler in 2021 to reach the 50 wicket mark. He was brilliant in the home Tests.

The finger spinner completed 400 Test career wickets in 2021. He was only the fourth Indian bowler to do so. He even surpassed Harbhajan Singh in the list of highest Test wicket-takers of India. He is now on number three after Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev and he is not much behind Kapil Dev.

He even scored a hundred in Australia and helped India to draw the third Test of the series in January 2021. The all-round abilities of Ashwin will be needed in the upcoming South Africa series in the absence of India’s premier all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

8. Axar Patel

The surprise package for India this year, Axar Patel had a fantastic year. He received his maiden Test cap because Jadeja was not available in the home series against England. In the three-Test matches that he played, he picked 27 wickets with four five-wicket hauls in 6 innings.

In 2021, the left-arm orthodox picked 36 wickets in five games with an extraordinary bowling average of 11.86. A total of 5 five-wicket hauls were in the name of Axar this year which was the most by any bowler this year. The ability to keep the ball straight on the turning tracks is his best quality.

He was also handy with the bat, he scored a fifty against New Zealand. Going into the South Arica series, he can be used as an all-rounder accompanied by R Ashwin in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja.

9. Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami alongside Jasprit Bumrah is the leader of the Indian pace attack across all three formats. He has impressed everyone both in home and away games. In the ICC World Test Championship also, he was very good with both inswingers and outswingers and he was looking in full rhythm.

The Bengal fast bowler played four Test matches in 2021 and picked 15 wickets with a bowling average of 27.33. The accuracy and focus Shami shows in a Test match is an example for other fast bowlers in the country. Despite minor injuries, he has been consistent with the ball.

Shami also played a good knock at Lord’s, everyone remembers that. That innings marked the foundation of a good lead for India in the second innings. Shami shows complete dedication, passion, and love for cricket and his country when he stays on the ground.

10. Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah has been the premier fast bowler of India for the last few years. In 2021 also he was brilliant. Whether it was Australia, England, or home soil, he was very impressive both with the new ball and old ball. Initially, Bumrah was not considered a Test bowler but when he got his chance, he impressed everyone.

In 2021, Jassi played 8 Test matches in which he got 25 test wickets with a bowling average of 29.20. In the England series, he played 4 Test matches in which he dismissed 18 batters with a bowling average of 20.83. He also had a five-wicket haul (5/64) to his name.

The pacer bowled beautifully in the home series against England too but he didn’t get any wickets as the wicket had nothing for the pacers. Despite these conditions, he bowled a couple of good spells against opponents and helped the spinners to take an edge over them.

11. Mohammed Siraj

The Miyaan Magic, Mohammed Siraj was the leading Test wicket-taker among Indian pacers in 2021. He picked 28 wickets in nine games with a bowling average of 29.89. He hadn’t got a chance to play in the World Test Championship final but after that, the England series came and Siraj came out of the syllabus for the English batters.

Siraj played four games and picked 14 wickets. Who can forget the spell of Siraj in the second innings at Lord’s? He was very much charged and unplayable as well. He picked four of the English wickets in the second innings and assured India a win.

Everyone was impressed with the Hyderabad express. In the New Zealand series at home, he was brilliant too. In the second and last Test match, the way he used the new ball was highly praised. He picked the first three wickets of the Kiwis in the first innings and who can forget that ball to Ross Taylor. Miyaan Magic is just getting better day by day.