With the highly anticipated ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final between India and Australia on the horizon, former England captain Nasser Hussain has revealed his combined Test XI from the two teams. Surprisingly, despite spin playing a significant role in their previous encounters, Hussain opted for only one specialist spinner in his lineup.
Narrowing down on spinner and bowling all-rounder
During India's successful defense of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home, the duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja accounted for a remarkable 47 wickets. Similarly, Australia's spinners Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy proved their worth, each claiming 36 scalps.
Both Lyon (81) and Ashwin (61) also featured among the leading wicket-takers throughout the WTC cycle. However, Hussain's selection saw only one spinner from the two teams securing a place in his combined Test XI, showcasing his strategic preference for a balanced composition.
"If the World Test Championship Final was in the subcontinent or India, I might go Jadeja at six. But I'm not, because it's in England," Hussain told The ICC Review.
"I'm going to go for a bowling all-rounder, seam-bowler in Cameron Green. That's who I want as my all-rounder. My spin bowler would be Ravi Ashwin at eight. And he bats, obviously, very good at No.8," Hussain added.
In Hussain's combined Test XI, the five batsmen preceding Australia's promising talent, Cameron Green, bring a wealth of experience to the table, collectively accumulating an impressive 91 Test centuries.
Top order and middle order
"Rohit Sharma, very easy, top of the order and captain for me. I love the way Rohit captains," Hussain said. I'd like to have Shubman (Gill) in but I think it's just a little bit early for him to break into my combined XI, so I'm going to go with Usman Khawaja to open the batting. Then into the very easy bit, three of the all-time world greats in (Marnus) Labuschagne, (Steve) Smith and (Virat) Kohli come in at three, four, five," Hussain said.
Hussain's combined Test XI, featuring only one spinner, allows him the privilege of selecting from a pool of elite pacers to fill the remaining positions.
"(Pat) Cummins at nine, easy choice. (Mitchell) Starc at 10 to give me that left-arm variation. Mohammed Shami, just so that we can have so many replays of his seam position going down. I would have obviously Jasprit in there if he wasn't injured, but he is so I'm having Shami at 11," Hussain said.
Nasser Hussain's combined India-Australia Test XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Mohammad Shami.
