Test Cricket Prediction and Discussion Thread [self - mod]

[pakhitheboss]

Unbelievable consistent performance by the English test cricket team. What a crazy chade they have been doing so far. First it was Newzealand and now it is against India. They can easily chade a target of 250+ and they make it look so simple. 378 runs chase and the batting performance of Bairstow is simply unbelievable.

Now it has to win remaining all test matches they will play in order for them to get entry for the finals of world test championship.

[1715351067]

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[1715351067]

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[JSRAW]

^^ The way Root and Bairstow were playing even 500 looked reachable. Wish this was 5 test match series, would have been much better.

If there were more test matches, India would have shown much better performance and I wouldn't be surprised if they would have won a few matches too. The innings that Root and Bairstow played were one of unique innings and we don't expect the same performance to be repeated in every match. I would say England has a better fate in this match and they were lucky that they won the match. Anyways England has won this very important match.

India did play quality of cricket for first 3 days but they messed up big time in 4th day and that's why test cricket is considered tough format, if you get complacent then you deserve to lose.

I won't say England was lucky, atm they are high on confidence and momentum is with them by backing their skills, same as India when they beat Aus and very same England team at home and away last year. Having said that their real test would be how they perform in India and Australia.

Time has come to remove nepotism from team selection. Why players such as Hanuma Vihari and Mohammad Siraj were included in the test team? There are far better players available, and the selectors go back to these two everytime. Their test record is not good and yet they are being given so many chances. I would like to see emerging players such as T Natarajan and Mohsin Khan in the test team. Even bowlers such as Mukesh Choudhary and Prasidh Krishna deserves a chance to represent India in the longer format.

For 100th time, there is no nepotism here whatsoever. Fans should not be that reactive with few bad performance. For selection their is a process.

Ranji > India A > National team

Likes of Vihari, Gill, Iyer, Siraj etc has a good record in Ranji and India A that's why they got picked in the first place. They do have some problems and they have to address them without any doubt but at the same time you have to give them a long rope. Likes of Mohsin Khan has a very long way to go, he didn't showed any extra ordinary skill in red ball so far that he should be fast tracked, he's no way Bumrah. Natarajan will not play test cricket as he's already 31, at best he might feature in 3-4 matches that's it. Prasidh Krishna will surely play in future.

[Sithara007]

~~~~
For 100th time, there is no nepotism here whatsoever. Fans should not be that reactive with few bad performance. For selection their is a process.

Ranji > India A > National team

Likes of Vihari, Gill, Iyer, Siraj etc has a good record in Ranji and India A that's why they got picked in the first place. They do have some problems and they have to address them without any doubt but at the same time you have to give them a long rope. Likes of Mohsin Khan has a very long way to go, he didn't showed any extra ordinary skill in red ball so far that he should be fast tracked, he's no way Bumrah. Natarajan will not play test cricket as he's already 31, at best he might feature in 3-4 matches that's it. Prasidh Krishna will surely play in future.

Well.. I posted about it, because Hanuma Vihari is having a test batting average of less than 35. The average for the current Indian squad is >45. For comparison, Ravindra Jadeja has a batting average of 36.56 and he is not a yet regular in the Indian test side. Same with Siraj as well. His test bowling average is close to 31, which is far from impressive. Given his inability to bat, I don't believe that there is any logic in giving him chances again and again. For both Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, the average is in the 20s.

[JSRAW]

~~~~
For 100th time, there is no nepotism here whatsoever. Fans should not be that reactive with few bad performance. For selection their is a process.

Ranji > India A > National team

Likes of Vihari, Gill, Iyer, Siraj etc has a good record in Ranji and India A that's why they got picked in the first place. They do have some problems and they have to address them without any doubt but at the same time you have to give them a long rope. Likes of Mohsin Khan has a very long way to go, he didn't showed any extra ordinary skill in red ball so far that he should be fast tracked, he's no way Bumrah. Natarajan will not play test cricket as he's already 31, at best he might feature in 3-4 matches that's it. Prasidh Krishna will surely play in future.

Well.. I posted about it, because Hanuma Vihari is having a test batting average of less than 35. The average for the current Indian squad is >45. For comparison, Ravindra Jadeja has a batting average of 36.56 and he is not a yet regular in the Indian test side. Same with Siraj as well. His test bowling average is close to 31, which is far from impressive. Given his inability to bat, I don't believe that there is any logic in giving him chances again and again. For both Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, the average is in the 20s.

Not very clever argument but okay. IMO it's ignorance to say that Jadeja is not regular in Test squad. Only time he didn't played any test in last 3 years when he was injured. Got injured in Australia and missed few home tests and South Africa away series.

Yeah, Vihari's average is bad atm and we've discussed this many times but you have to agree that he mostly play in tough conditions (SENA) and doesn't have luxury to play at home at all. He's considered replacement of Pujara in a long run and for this you have to give him long rope, there is a possibility that he might fail but you still need to give him 1 more tour in every SENA country as you can't just bring new guy out of nowhere and throw in the challenging conditions, unless they are generational talent and so far we have none for number 3 position (SENA only).

Siraj's average was 27-ish before this match started and Shardul's 21-ish so what's your point? 1 bad performance and kicked them out?

My observation is Siraj will play for long, i have no doubt about it. Shardul will only play in SENA only but it would depend on the conditions, the more seaming track he'll get a nod for sure. In india, may be few times, if someone is injured but i would say never.

[Juggy777]

~~~~
For 100th time, there is no nepotism here whatsoever. Fans should not be that reactive with few bad performance. For selection their is a process.

Ranji > India A > National team

Likes of Vihari, Gill, Iyer, Siraj etc has a good record in Ranji and India A that's why they got picked in the first place. They do have some problems and they have to address them without any doubt but at the same time you have to give them a long rope. Likes of Mohsin Khan has a very long way to go, he didn't showed any extra ordinary skill in red ball so far that he should be fast tracked, he's no way Bumrah. Natarajan will not play test cricket as he's already 31, at best he might feature in 3-4 matches that's it. Prasidh Krishna will surely play in future.

Well.. I posted about it, because Hanuma Vihari is having a test batting average of less than 35. The average for the current Indian squad is >45. For comparison, Ravindra Jadeja has a batting average of 36.56 and he is not a yet regular in the Indian test side. Same with Siraj as well. His test bowling average is close to 31, which is far from impressive. Given his inability to bat, I don't believe that there is any logic in giving him chances again and again. For both Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, the average is in the 20s.

Not very clever argument but okay. IMO it's ignorance to say that Jadeja is not regular in Test squad. Only time he didn't played any test in last 3 years when he was injured. Got injured in Australia and missed few home tests and South Africa away series.

Yeah, Vihari's average is bad atm and we've discussed this many times but you have to agree that he mostly play in tough conditions (SENA) and doesn't have luxury to play at home at all. He's considered replacement of Pujara in a long run and for this you have to give him long rope, there is a possibility that he might fail but you still need to give him 1 more tour in every SENA country as you can't just bring new guy out of nowhere and throw in the challenging conditions, unless they are generational talent and so far we have none for number 3 position (SENA only).

Siraj's average was 27-ish before this match started and Shardul's 21-ish so what's your point? 1 bad performance and kicked them out?

My observation is Siraj will play for long, i have no doubt about it. Shardul will only play in SENA only but it would depend on the conditions, the more seaming track he'll get a nod for sure. In india, may be few times, if someone is injured but i would say never.

I strongly think that there can’t be any kind of nepotism under Dravid’s watch, and that he selected the best possible team for this fixture. Furthermore I too feel that Vihari needs time and he can do what Pujara did go and play in county cricket to get exposure, because one more bad series and calls to drop him from the team will further increase hence he needs to step up and improve his game at the earliest.

[Sithara007]

Not very clever argument but okay. IMO it's ignorance to say that Jadeja is not regular in Test squad. Only time he didn't played any test in last 3 years when he was injured. Got injured in Australia and missed few home tests and South Africa away series.

Yeah, Vihari's average is bad atm and we've discussed this many times but you have to agree that he mostly play in tough conditions (SENA) and doesn't have luxury to play at home at all. He's considered replacement of Pujara in a long run and for this you have to give him long rope, there is a possibility that he might fail but you still need to give him 1 more tour in every SENA country as you can't just bring new guy out of nowhere and throw in the challenging conditions, unless they are generational talent and so far we have none for number 3 position (SENA only).

Siraj's average was 27-ish before this match started and Shardul's 21-ish so what's your point? 1 bad performance and kicked them out?

My observation is Siraj will play for long, i have no doubt about it. Shardul will only play in SENA only but it would depend on the conditions, the more seaming track he'll get a nod for sure. In india, may be few times, if someone is injured but i would say never.

OK.. let me wait and watch for a few more tours. I don't have detailed stats on how he (Vihari) performs in SENA and sub-continent, so I need to give him the benefit of doubt. But in the next 1-2 tours, he need to deliver a match-winning performance. And regarding Siraj, he is looked okayish in the 5th match. But there is stiff competition for the slot of pace bowlers in Indian national team. Similar to the case of Vihari, I would like to see how he performs during the next test series. BTW, when is the next test series for India? I don't think that any matches are scheduled for the next few months.

[Iranus]

I strongly think that there can’t be any kind of nepotism under Dravid’s watch, and that he selected the best possible team for this fixture. Furthermore I too feel that Vihari needs time and he can do what Pujara did go and play in county cricket to get exposure, because one more bad series and calls to drop him from the team will further increase hence he needs to step up and improve his game at the earliest.

The Indian squad was good enough. I have no complaints about the squad. However, the lack of Rohit Sharma in the squad has been well understood. Since the pitch was pace-dependent, they have three experienced bowlers like Bumrah, Shami and Siraj in the squad. These 3 bowlers took 9 wickets in the first innings. But in the second innings, both India's batting and bowling lineup broke down.

[dezoel]

The Indian bowlers were quite effective in the first innings. But the performance of the Indian bowlers in the second innings was very poor. Only Bumrah was able to take two wickets. I was surprised to see such performance of Indian bowlers. Experienced bowlers like Jadeja, Shami and Mohammad Siraj did not perform well. However, the performance of England's batsmen is very commendable. They have been able to resist the experienced Indian bowlers very well.

India was in control first as batting and then bowling, but suddenly they lost grip on match in their second inning in both sections, first batting and then bowling it's surely misery for me and millions in India. Suddenly why they lost with having amazing start of this match by Pant and Jadu no batsman stay at crease in second inning, and they bowled out very cheaply.

Now time is running out for Kohli as well because he is having poor form for long time with this Indian batting problems are widening because few new batsmen also fail to give any impression hopefully now at home they will bring some batsmen with better technique and quality which works for them in SENA countries as well because things are going worst for them in last few series in SENA countries.

[JSRAW]

Not very clever argument but okay. IMO it's ignorance to say that Jadeja is not regular in Test squad. Only time he didn't played any test in last 3 years when he was injured. Got injured in Australia and missed few home tests and South Africa away series.

Yeah, Vihari's average is bad atm and we've discussed this many times but you have to agree that he mostly play in tough conditions (SENA) and doesn't have luxury to play at home at all. He's considered replacement of Pujara in a long run and for this you have to give him long rope, there is a possibility that he might fail but you still need to give him 1 more tour in every SENA country as you can't just bring new guy out of nowhere and throw in the challenging conditions, unless they are generational talent and so far we have none for number 3 position (SENA only).

Siraj's average was 27-ish before this match started and Shardul's 21-ish so what's your point? 1 bad performance and kicked them out?

My observation is Siraj will play for long, i have no doubt about it. Shardul will only play in SENA only but it would depend on the conditions, the more seaming track he'll get a nod for sure. In india, may be few times, if someone is injured but i would say never.

OK.. let me wait and watch for a few more tours. I don't have detailed stats on how he (Vihari) performs in SENA and sub-continent, so I need to give him the benefit of doubt. But in the next 1-2 tours, he need to deliver a match-winning performance. And regarding Siraj, he is looked okayish in the 5th match. But there is stiff competition for the slot of pace bowlers in Indian national team. Similar to the case of Vihari, I would like to see how he performs during the next test series. BTW, when is the next test series for India? I don't think that any matches are scheduled for the next few months.

He performed badly as a batter if we are only focusing on the average but at the same time he batted sensibly according to the situation, most of the time he was used as a floater, sometime he had to open and sometime had to bat at middle order. with the tail. It's never easy task for any batsman, let alone new batter.

We are not playing much test cricket in next 8-9 months, only Bangladesh away tour in nov and next year BG Trophy against Australia at home. Management might dump Vihari (rightly so) in the subcontinent as there are better options available at home, plus Jaddu-Ashwin-Axar trio will be back for home series. You can only fit 11 players after all.

Although this time i am bit worried about home series because our main batters are not performing even at home (Pujara-Kohli), our spin bowlers are doing all the heavy lifting here with bat and ball as they are all rounders. At the same time i am hoping that likes of Iyer, Rohit, Pant ,KL Rahul (Mayank, if selected. Hope he does) will contribute with the bat as they are dangerous against any attack and scoring runs at home consistently, hope 1-2 batter clicks in every match.

On fast bowling in context of home series we actually don't need any new pacers atm as we have Shami and Umesh combination (Plus spin trio). They are arguably one of the finest seam pair at home conditions. But yeah for away tours competition is tough and i think Prasidh Krishna is very much banging the door, also Umran Malik might see some sort of fast track in test cricket if he manage to show some discipline with his lines in next Ranji season.

Overall future is secure for next 3-5 years in the red ball as new talent is coming up very quickly. Most of the times it's a blessing but when team is in transition mode it's headache and we are kind of facing transition mode atm. Change in Captaincy and coach. Rahane-Ishant out, Pujara is bad series away from getting drop, Rohit is struggling with his fitness issue, Kohli is out of form.  

This would be my Playing XI and complete squad for our next 2 series against Bangladesh and Australia.

Mayank
Rohit
Pujara
Kohli
Pant
Iyer
Jaddu
Ash
Axar
Umesh
Shami

Bumrah/Siraj as back up seam bowlers for rotation.
Prithvi Shaw /KL Rahul as back up, preferably Shaw but poor guy won't get any chance atm.

[onecall123]

I strongly think that there can’t be any kind of nepotism under Dravid’s watch, and that he selected the best possible team for this fixture. Furthermore I too feel that Vihari needs time and he can do what Pujara did go and play in county cricket to get exposure, because one more bad series and calls to drop him from the team will further increase hence he needs to step up and improve his game at the earliest.

The Indian squad was good enough. I have no complaints about the squad. However, the lack of Rohit Sharma in the squad has been well understood. Since the pitch was pace-dependent, they have three experienced bowlers like Bumrah, Shami and Siraj in the squad. These 3 bowlers took 9 wickets in the first innings. But in the second innings, both India's batting and bowling lineup broke down.

It might be more balanced for India if Rohit and Rahul are in the squad. Having played recklessly in the second innings, they should have played with more patience than in the first innings. Defending a 350+ target for the first time in a test is disgusting. It was a winning situation until the 3rd day. I give England credit for outperforming India in the second innings. They have seen great results from a change in mindset.

[Haunebu]

Mayank
Rohit
Pujara
Kohli
Pant
Iyer
Jaddu
Ash
Axar
Umesh
Shami

Bumrah/Siraj as back up seam bowlers for rotation.
Prithvi Shaw /KL Rahul as back up, preferably Shaw but poor guy won't get any chance atm.

I wouldn't include Kohli in the squad. That dude needs to take a long break and we all know why. I miss the old Kohli whose batting was always a treat to watch. I feel that he could be back to his run-machine ways after the break.

Also, I would replace Umesh with Bumrah since his form is great these days. Rahul should replace Mayank too on top.

[Mahdirakib]

If there were more test matches, India would have shown much better performance and I wouldn't be surprised if they would have won a few matches too. The innings that Root and Bairstow played were one of unique innings and we don't expect the same performance to be repeated in every match. I would say England has a better fate in this match and they were lucky that they won the match. Anyways England has won this very important match.

England hasn't won the match with their fate only. England players has showed their capability too. They batted badly in the first innings, and Indian team showed poor batting performance in the second innings. But look at Bairstow, he has played very well in both innings. Root and Bairstow also helped England to get victory against New Zealand in the third test match. Bairstow has performed very well in the second test match against New Zealand. I think India has lost the match for the performance of Bairstow only. However, I didn't expect that England will win this match after watching their performance in the first innings.

[fuguebtc]

If there were more test matches, India would have shown much better performance and I wouldn't be surprised if they would have won a few matches too. The innings that Root and Bairstow played were one of unique innings and we don't expect the same performance to be repeated in every match. I would say England has a better fate in this match and they were lucky that they won the match. Anyways England has won this very important match.

England hasn't won the match with their fate only. England players has showed their capability too. They batted badly in the first innings, and Indian team showed poor batting performance in the second innings. But look at Bairstow, he has played very well in both innings. Root and Bairstow also helped England to get victory against New Zealand in the third test match. Bairstow has performed very well in the second test match against New Zealand. I think India has lost the match for the performance of Bairstow only. However, I didn't expect that England will win this match after watching their performance in the first innings.

England has basically started playing t20 cricket in test format. They have scored so fast in test that they didn't even have to think about the time left. They finished well before that. To be honest it was really unexpected from England and they took advantage of that. I have to say I also thought India is going to do well and win the last match. But England proved a lot of people wrong. Right now I think unorthodox cricket is the way to play and that is going to give any team a lot of success. If they have the quality to execute that plan of course.

[JSRAW]

Mayank
Rohit
Pujara
Kohli
Pant
Iyer
Jaddu
Ash
Axar
Umesh
Shami

Bumrah/Siraj as back up seam bowlers for rotation.
Prithvi Shaw /KL Rahul as back up, preferably Shaw but poor guy won't get any chance atm.

I wouldn't include Kohli in the squad. That dude needs to take a long break and we all know why. I miss the old Kohli whose batting was always a treat to watch. I feel that he could be back to his run-machine ways after the break.

Also, I would replace Umesh with Bumrah since his form is great these days. Rahul should replace Mayank too on top.

I understand the frustration with Virat's form, i feel the same but in last 3-4 inning, south africa and small amount of time he spent at the crease in England. He did looked million dollar prospect, unfortunately he kept throwing his wicket cheaply and almost every test cricket fan cursed him because of his status. Upcoming series are best chance for him to get his form back imo so i would like to see him contribute. if it's too much he could take break from other formats and even take retirement if he wants, i just want to see him succeed in red ball because he's breathtaking when in form. We aren't playing many test in next 6-8 months anyway.

As far as subcontinent cricket goes, i would never let go off Umesh and Mayank, these guys always go under radar but they are match winners in subcontinent.

[Webetcoins]

I understand the frustration with Virat's form, i feel the same but in last 3-4 inning, south africa and small amount of time he spent at the crease in England. He did looked million dollar prospect, unfortunately he kept throwing his wicket cheaply and almost every test cricket fan cursed him because of his status. Upcoming series are best chance for him to get his form back imo so i would like to see him contribute. if it's too much he could take break from other formats and even take retirement if he wants, i just want to see him succeed in red ball because he's breathtaking when in form. We aren't playing many test in next 6-8 months anyway.

As far as subcontinent cricket goes, i would never let go off Umesh and Mayank, these guys always go under radar but they are match winners in subcontinent.

I agree, feeling you are truly a lover of Indian cricket, and it's not possible without having too much involvement in game or personal experience.

I am also fan of Kohli and feeling sad about him but with this all now as we all know two good test series coming which are going to have big impact on his career if he is able to perform as required then surely he is going to stay here for some more years otherwise his career is already under scrutiny because of last few years were not good enough even after losing captaincy.
 
He fails to give better performance which is creating good pressure on him and selectors as well but good thing happening for him right now they have no better choice for this place, so they are going with him and still we can feel some more chance hopefully things will change in positive.

[Sithara007]

~~~~
This would be my Playing XI and complete squad for our next 2 series against Bangladesh and Australia.

Mayank
Rohit
Pujara
Kohli
Pant
Iyer
Jaddu
Ash
Axar
Umesh
Shami

Bumrah/Siraj as back up seam bowlers for rotation.
Prithvi Shaw /KL Rahul as back up, preferably Shaw but poor guy won't get any chance atm.

Quite surprising that you have given a position for Umesh above Bumrah. That is odd, because Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in any format for India, and that too my a large distance. I am OK with Shami, but what about Umesh? He has been inconsistent for a long time. I am OK with the choice of Ashwin-Axar-Jadeja as the spin bowlers, because the other options such as Sundar are yet to show maturity on field. And I would like Shaw in the place of Mayank. But I agree that he is a bit more volatile when compared to Rahul and Mayank.

[JSRAW]

~~~~
This would be my Playing XI and complete squad for our next 2 series against Bangladesh and Australia.

Mayank
Rohit
Pujara
Kohli
Pant
Iyer
Jaddu
Ash
Axar
Umesh
Shami

Bumrah/Siraj as back up seam bowlers for rotation.
Prithvi Shaw /KL Rahul as back up, preferably Shaw but poor guy won't get any chance atm.

Quite surprising that you have given a position for Umesh above Bumrah. That is odd, because Jasprit Bumrah is the best bowler in any format for India, and that too my a large distance. I am OK with Shami, but what about Umesh? He has been inconsistent for a long time. I am OK with the choice of Ashwin-Axar-Jadeja as the spin bowlers, because the other options such as Sundar are yet to show maturity on field. And I would like Shaw in the place of Mayank. But I agree that he is a bit more volatile when compared to Rahul and Mayank.

I know that Bumrah is superior but there are multiple reasons. Giving proper rest to Bumrah as he play all format and his work management is real issue. Most of the time we really don't need his services in subcontinent because most of the matches are going to favor spin. Umesh Last 4-5 series figures at home are God-like, last time this thick boy played against AUS, SA, WI and BAN and he rattled everyone with his bowling.

Sundar is just 21 and future prospect for India but to me he did looked mature enough to bat up at the order, he's already played 3 crucial innings in just 4 matches. Problem is he still can't get into the team because we already have so many spin all rounders and competition is tough so he's like 4th-5th choice for the selectors. But can you imagine Jadeja - Ashwin - Sundar -Axar batting at 7,8,9,10 position respectively for India at home? This would be nightmare for any bowling side. 

In my observation the kind of dominating cricket India play at home (almost decade), pick any domestic batter randomly and throw him against any team, most of the time they will outscore (Pujara-Kohli-Rahane), remember Karun Nair? So Rahul, Mayank and Shaw are all are good for me. Rahul is all round as he play both spin and pace nicely but Mayank-Shaw duo is way superior to Rahul when it comes to playing spin and way more attacking as they don't respect spin at all.

Overall i prefer horses for courses.

[Swordsoffreedom]

The Indian bowlers were quite effective in the first innings. But the performance of the Indian bowlers in the second innings was very poor. Only Bumrah was able to take two wickets. I was surprised to see such performance of Indian bowlers. Experienced bowlers like Jadeja, Shami and Mohammad Siraj did not perform well. However, the performance of England's batsmen is very commendable. They have been able to resist the experienced Indian bowlers very well.

Time has come to remove nepotism from team selection. Why players such as Hanuma Vihari and Mohammad Siraj were included in the test team? There are far better players available, and the selectors go back to these two everytime. Their test record is not good and yet they are being given so many chances. I would like to see emerging players such as T Natarajan and Mohsin Khan in the test team. Even bowlers such as Mukesh Choudhary and Prasidh Krishna deserves a chance to represent India in the longer format.

I will not say that the Indian management made a mistake by giving Hanuma Vihar and Mohammad Siraj a chance in the squad. How will they become experienced if they don't get a chance to play? India has a lot of talented players. And they play well enough in the domestic league. If you want to experience them, you must give them a chance in international matches. Hanuma Vihar and Siraj will be given some more opportunities by the Board of India, in which case if they cannot prove their worth, then the Indian management will provide opportunities for new players.

[Haunebu]

Upcoming series are best chance for him to get his form back imo so i would like to see him contribute. if it's too much he could take break from other formats and even take retirement if he wants, i just want to see him succeed in red ball because he's breathtaking when in form. We aren't playing many test in next 6-8 months anyway.

Am not expecting him to suddenly recover his form across all formats anytime soon since his performance has been impacted by physical and mental issues in recent years. I don't remember the last time he actually scored a century.

This guy looked like he would break Sachin's insane records in the next couple of years, but I don't think that's going to happen anymore.

[Naficopa]

Mayank
Rohit
Pujara
Kohli
Pant
Iyer
Jaddu
Ash
Axar
Umesh
Shami

Bumrah/Siraj as back up seam bowlers for rotation.
Prithvi Shaw /KL Rahul as back up, preferably Shaw but poor guy won't get any chance atm.

I wouldn't include Kohli in the squad. That dude needs to take a long break and we all know why. I miss the old Kohli whose batting was always a treat to watch. I feel that he could be back to his run-machine ways after the break.

Also, I would replace Umesh with Bumrah since his form is great these days. Rahul should replace Mayank too on top.

I am not sure - what has happened to Kholi - his performance is going down and after COVID - we have hardly seen him in form.
Also the IPL has taken so much of Indian Cricket time. I wish the IPL to be at least squeezed a bit so that other matches should be given importance as well