A genuine seam bowling all-rounder would allow India to play two spinners and still have four seam bowlers.While the talks have been for the inclusion of Ashwin and maybe India should have played with two spinners, does anyone thinks that someone like a Hardik Pandya would have given us the liberty to go with two spinners?
I mean Shardul is okay but he is a swing bowler while Hardik can hit the deck hard and has extra yard of pace making him more potent in comparison on unhelpful conditions and is definitely a better batsman who could have been utilized for Pant-esque batting role as well.
I know he hasn't been around the Test side for quite some time now but given how much Shardul relies on the swinging pitch and isn't too reliable with the bat, I thought India might as well try and look back to Hardik especially when he has shown a bit of reliance in his batting lately.
Gill
Rohit
Pujara
Kohli
Pant
Jadeja
Pandya
Ashwin
Shami
Bumrah
Siraj
Would be a strong XI.
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