Interested in cricket predictions India’s Playing 11 for the 1st Test against Sri Lanka?
Well, this article will tell you exactly that.
After a convincing victory in the T20 series, team India will cross swords with Sri Lanka in the longest format.
The two-match Test series will start from the 4th of March at the Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
India will be keen to beat Sri Lanka in both Tests to improve their standings in the ICC World Test Championship 2021-22 points table.
Rohit Sharma has been announced as the new Test captain of team India and he will lead the side in this Test series.
The experienced players like Pujara, Rahane, Ishan, and Saha were dropped from the squad before the start of this series.
KL Rahul is also not available due to fitness problems so, it is a great opportunity for some youngsters to secure their spot in the regular playing 11.
In the absence of some big names team India’s probable playing XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka is given below:
Openers: Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal
The new Indian skipper Rohit Sharma will open the innings alongside Mayank Agarwal in the first Test.
Rohit Sharma has now become the captain of team India in all the 3 formats and this series against Sri Lanka will be his first project as a skipper in Test cricket.
Mayank Agarwal will most possibly be the second opener for India in the first Test.
In India’s last Test series, Agarwal scored 135 runs in 6 innings at an average of 22.50 against South Africa.
But he will be a key player for India at the top due to the home conditions.
Middle Order: Kohli, Iyer, Pant, and Vihari
After a long time, India will play a test match in the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
It will be a new but still a very strong middle-order.
The former skipper Virat Kohli will be back to the side after missing the T20I series.
Virat will be playing his 100th Test match but unfortunately in front of zero crowds according to BCCI’s order.
The right-handed batter has a brilliant Test record against Sri Lanka and he will probably score his 71st International hundred in this series.
Shreyas Iyer will most likely bat at no 4 position.
He was given an opportunity in this series ahead of Rahane and Pujara.
Iyer had thrashed a hundred and a half-century in his debut match against New Zealand last year.
The right-handed batter was also in outstanding form in the T20I series against Sri Lanka where he scored 3 consecutive half-centuries so, he will carry his form in the red-ball format.
Rishabh Pant will also be back to the Test squad after missing the T20I series.
The wicket-keeper batter slammed an outstanding ton against South Africa in the previous series.
Hanuma Vihari will be a part of India’s middle-order in the first test match.
In the absence of Rahane and Pujara, Hanuma Vihari will play as an experienced Test specialist.
All-rounder: Ashwin and Jadeja
India has two experienced all-rounders in the form of Ashwin and Jadeja in their squad.
Jadeja will be the best all-round option for India due to his superb abilities both with the bat and ball.
After suffering from an injury for a long time, the left-handed batter has made a strong comeback in the T20I against Sri Lanka.
In the 1st match, he grabbed 2 wickets while in the 2nd game, Jadeja scored a crucial knock of 45 runs off just 18 balls that helped India to win the match.
Ravichandran Ashwin will lead the spin department in the series against Sri Lanka.
Ashwin has been India’s frontline spinner for a long time and once again he will be the key player for India in this Test series.
Bowlers: Bumrah, Shami, and Siraj
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, and Muhammad Shami will be the pace bowling trio of team India in this series.
The vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will lead the fast bowling department.
The right-arm pacer has picked 12 wickets at an average of 23.42 in the series against South Africa.
Bumrah will be a big threat for the Lankan batters in this series.
Mohammed Shami and Mohammad Siraj might be the other two seamers for India in the first match.
Shami also gave an outstanding performance against the Proteas, claiming 14 wickets in 3 Tests.
Siraj has become a crucial bowler for team India in red-ball cricket.
Siraj was mostly injured in 3 Tests against South Africa and only picked only 3 wickets in that series.
However, he showed an excellent performance in the ODI series against West Indies.
He picked up 5 wickets at an average of 18.6
Hope this article on cricket predictions India’s playing 11 is useful.
