Sanjay Manjrekar said that he would play Hanuma Vihari ahead of Ravindra Jadeja as a reward for his brilliant innings against Australia and to provide a defensive cushion to the Indian batting order.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Manjrekar said that he would choose Siraj over Ishant because of his ability to swing the ball
• Manjrekar also chose Hanuma Vihari ahead of Jadeja for the former’s defensive ability
• The WTC final starts on Friday and will be played at the Ageas Bowl

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and fast bowler Ishant Sharma don’t find a place in former batsman and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar’s India squad for the World Test Championship against New Zealand. The historic one-off Test will be played from Friday at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

“I’m assuming you have typical English conditions. I’m assuming there will be a mixture of sun and cloudy cover throughout the five days of the Test match if it goes the distance. So, I’m picking the team accordingly,” Manjrekar said in an ESPNCricinfo video.

Manjrekar said he is going for Hanuma Vihari instead of Ravindra Jadeja to provide defensive solidity in the lower middle order.

“Going to have Hanuma Vihari to reward him for his brilliant innings before he got injured. India will need somebody with more compact defensive technique. Because the guys at the top of the order, barring (Cheteshwar) Pujara, aren’t those kinds. So I will have Hanuma Vihari at number 6. Pant at 7, considering India have hardly had any practice game. I just want to make sure the batting runs deep,” Manjrekar added.

Manjrekar said that he would go for Mohammed Siraj over Ishant Sharma because of the former’s swing bowling ability.

“Want Siraj, the swing bowler to be brought into the equation, and the last time Siraj bowled overseas in Australia, (he) got a five-wicket haul. Hard to leave a bowler like him out. You will be tempted to think of Siraj because when you look at Shami, Bumrah and Ishant, they are more seam bowlers, hit-the-deck kind of bowler. Siraj might offer something different. I would go with Siraj, but India might play Ishant for obvious reasons,” he added.