The Indian cricket team fans will have their eyes glued on June 5 when Virat Kohli & Co start off their ICC World Cup 2019 campaign against South Africa at Southampton. A week before the all important encounter, former India batsman VVS Laxman has picked India’s Playing XI.

Surprisingly, Laxman went with three spinners – Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal - and only two frontline fast bowlers with Hardik Pandya being the third seam bowling option. Based on the performance in the warm-up games, Laxman picked his team while commentating for the official broadcasters.

There was no place for Kedar Jadhav, who was the only player not to get a hit during India’s two warm-up games because of a shoulder injury picked up during the latter stages of IPL.

Laxman instead, picked Ravindra Jadeja as his No. 7 with Hardik Pandya at No. 6. After a sparkling century against Bangladesh, KL Rahul pretty much picked himself at No. 4.

The two seamers in Laxman’s side were Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, while there was no place for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who failed to impress in the warm-ups.

There was, however, no surprises in Laxman’s top three with Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli settling in their positions.

VVS Laxman’s India XI for South Africa match: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal

First Published: Jun 01, 2019 20:00 IST