All eyes are set on the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy that is going to start on 9 February 2023 in Nagpur. India will look to continue their dominance at home while Australia will look to win a Test series in India after 2004/05. Ahead of the series opener, fans are worried about the final playing XI of the Men in Blue.
Several reports have suggested that the pitch of Nagpur is going to be a rank-turner. However, after monitoring the pitch closely on 7 February, Steve Smith said that they can go with three spinners if needed. Even, India also might go with three spinners in their playing XI. Shreyas Iyer is not available for the first match. Hence, Suryakumar Yadav might get a debut also.
Fans were shocked to see Sunil Joshi’s predicted playing XI of team India for the Nagpur Test
While speaking to reporters, Steve Smith said: "Pretty dry, particularly one end. I think it will take a bit of spin, particularly the left-arm spinner taking it into our left-handers. There's a section there that's quite dry. Other than that, I can't really get a good gauge on it. I don’t think there will be a heap of bounce in the wicket, I think it will be quite skiddy for the seamers and maybe a bit of up-and-down movement as the game goes on. The cracks felt quite loose. I'm not entirely sure – we'll wait and see." Speaking about team India, they will look for a player to replace Iyer in the playing XI while Ishan Kishan or Srikar Bharat might also get a chance.
Now, regarding the same matter, the former India cricketer, Sunil Joshi shared his predicted playing XI for the match. He was one of the selectors who got sacked by the Indian Cricket Board after a poor showing from the Indian team at the 20-20 World Cup. But, his predicted playing XI surprised everyone as Sunil Joshi considered Suryakumar Yadav at number three while dropping Cheteshwar Pujara. He tweeted: “Will India line up like this in the first test? Deliberation between Pujara & Surya, a tough draw between both lefties Kuldeep & Axar. Here’s my XI: R Sharma, Shubhman Gill, Surya (should get first look in ), V Kohli, KL Rahul, KS Bharat, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Kuldeep Y, M Shami, and M Siraj”. So, fans went crazy and slammed him for such a prediction on social media platforms.
Here is the shared tweet:
Will India line up like this in the first test? Deliberation between Pujara & Surya,a tough draw between both lefties Kuldeep &Axar. Here’s my XI:
— Sunil Joshi | 🇮🇳 ಸುನಿಲ್ ಜೋಶಿ (@SunilJoshi_Spin) February 7, 2023
R Sharma
Shubhman Gill
Surya (should get first look in )
V Kohli
KL Rahul
KS Bharat
R Ashwin
R Jadeja
Kuldeep Y
M Shami
M Siraj
Here are the replies that Sunil Joshi received on Twitter after sharing his predicted playing XI:
Karnataka people right now 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/Yq0BQqL5Yt
— Diamond Biscuit (@DiamondBiskit) February 7, 2023
I didnt knew weed is allowed in India.
— Shaira Noorani (@NooraniShaira) February 7, 2023
@SanskariGuruji yeh humare ex selector tha 😸😸
— Kartej Ki Maasi 🐼❤️☕️🫓 (@Zainab_Haider10) February 7, 2023
The most drunk guy I have ever seen
— Tom Gravestone (@Whygravestone) February 7, 2023
Puji sir ne ye bkwas sunne ke lie nhi ball khayi thi body par
— harshit jaiswal (@hj_rocks2k16) February 7, 2023
Koi dhakka mukki nhi karega,sabko gaali dene ka mauka milega.
— Sumit Gupta ||RO45×VK18|| (@cricsumit24) February 7, 2023
He was our chief selector once 🤦🏻♂️😭
Wow coming from a former selector of Indian team 😳
— Jazz singh (@jass_jason18) February 7, 2023
Sky ke liye pujara ko bahar kar diya 😭😭🤭
— Rohit (@RohitMe89371067) February 7, 2023