Former England spinner Monty Panesar has picked his final XI for the World Test Championship final against New Zealand. Panesar picked both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in his team for the WTC final.
In fact, Panesar had earlier stated that India will be the favourites for the WTC final and England tour and they can even beat the hosts by 5-0 if the pitches support their spinners.
Panesar picked Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as the openers of the team. Gill had an ordinary home series against England as he scored 119 runs in four Test matches but had delivered the goods in Australia as he had scored 259 runs in three Test matches. Rohit has all the experience and it will be interesting to note how he handles the English conditions.
Cheteshwar Pujara bats at number three for Panesar and he is going to hold the key for the Indian team. Virat Kohli takes his usual number four position whereas vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane bats at number five.
Panesar selected Rishabh Pant to bat at number six. Pant has the skills to turn the match on its head with his blistering batting. Ravindra Jadeja will bat at number seven whereas Ravichandran Ashwin takes the eight place in the batting order.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma constitute the pace battery of the team. Thus, Panesar has picked a strong playing XI for the WTC final.
The WTC final will take place at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton from June 18.
Openers: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill; No 3: Cheteshwar Pujara, No. 4: Virat Kohli, No. 5: Ajinkya Rahane, No. 6: Rishabh Pant, No. 7: Ravindra Jadeja, No. 8: R Ashwin, No. 9: Jasprit Bumrah, No. 10: Mohammed Shami, No. 11: Ishant Sharma.
