Former India player turned commentator Parthiv Patel has picked his Indian XI for the first Test against South Africa as well. While saying that 10 players virtually pick themselves, he added that the team management needs to answer just one question as well. However, India will take on South Africa in a two-match Test series, with the first game taking place in Kolkata on November 14.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Parthiv said, “Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul will open. Sai Sudharsan will be at No. 3, Shubman Gill at No. 4, and then you will see Rishabh Pant playing at No. 5. The No. 6 position is slightly tricky. Otherwise, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah. There will be only one question for India, and that will be at No. 6, whether you want to play Nitish Reddy or Dhruv Jurel. It will be an early start in Kolkata. So can Nitish Reddy play the role of the third seamer? Then you can use Nitish Reddy with two seamers, and three spinners will come in the second innings.”

However, Parthiv Patel said that Dhruv Jurel has been scoring runs consistently, but also added that Jurel might not get a place if the Indian team management is looking for an all-rounder in the team as well.

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“Whether it was against the West Indies or wherever and whichever position Jurel has gotten to bat in, he has scored runs. The only thing is the combination you want to play with. If your combination is that you want to play an all-rounder, then he might not get a place,” he said.

“However, if you want to play a pure batter, Dhruv Jurel can play there, and this management has already shown that kind of confidence in Dhruv Jurel once. He played as a batter in Perth. Although India won that Test match, he didn’t get a chance after that. I feel Dhruv Jurel has done enough to be considered as a batter in the Test team,” Parthiv Patel concluded.

Parthiv Patel’s Indian playing XI vs SA 2025:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy/Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah