Courtesy: BCCI
Eyes are set on Team India, who will start their five-match Test challenge against Ben Stokes and Co. in England on June 20. For the much-awaited series, Team India supporters have kept their expectations high from Jasprit Bumrah, who was in excellent touch with the ball in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25. The pacer ended up as the highest wicket-taker in the series, picking up 32 wickets in nine innings of five matches. However, this time, Bumrah might not feature in India’s playing XI for all five Tests due to workload. Despite this fact, Team India management will want him to step up and spearhead India’s bowling unit confidently in the games he participates in.
Noting these developments, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed Mohammed Siraj to emerge as the highest wicket-taker in the series. The 38-year-old also believes England’s Chris Woakes might also end up as the most successful bowler in the competition if the veteran speedster appears for his side in all five games. "If Chris Woakes plays all five matches, I would say he would be the leading wicket-taker of the series, or maybe even Shoaib Bashir. From India, since Bumrah will not play all matches, I think Siraj will be the leading wicket-taker," said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
R Ashwin predicts Rishabh Pant to conclude the tournament as the highest run-scorer
Ashwin has also predicted Rishabh Pant to end the competition as the highest run-getter for India while from the English side, he picked up Joe Root. "Have to go with KL Rahul as the leading run-scorer, but because he is opening the batting, he might have a few first-innings glitches. So, I will go with Rishabh Pant instead. Rishabh can only get himself out. Can't look past Joe Root for England, while Ben Duckett is also a good shout," added Ashwin.
In his clip, India’s ex-spin wizard also revealed his India’s playing XI for the opening Test in Leeds and his team included KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna.
