India in conquest to their first test series win in South Africa will start their campaign at Centurion on with Boxing Day Test match on 26th December 2023.However prior to the test match , the Rahul Dravid led management alongside captain Rohit Sharma have a pretty decent headache of selecting a perfect 11 for the 1st test from the pool of future youngsters like Yashaswi Jaiswal , Shubman Gill  and the experience veterans comprising of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and Ravichandran Ashwin.

However in the past series in SENA countries outside the subcontinent, India has always followed a four fast bowlers and one spinner theory. As suited to the Centurion wicket, which seems to have a tinge of grass on it and is on the greener side, more likely or not India will try to stick to the same formula of selection, which means India will stick to the same combination of employing 4 fast bowlers and 1 spinner formula for the 1st Test

With the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj automatically selecting themselves as the pacers in the team and two new pacers to be selected from the likes of all rounder Shardul Thakur and one between Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishna, it would be a competition for the spot of a spinner playing  in the test match with the Rahul Dravid led management relying on left arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja and veteran offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin who now  has 489 test wickets to his credit.

The belief in the Indian camp though is that Ravindra Jadeja as a spinner allrounder would give them a batting option in the lower middle order alongside his left arm bowling quick arm action would turn decisive on the pitch where the ball is set to kept low .This in turn goes against the like of Ravichandran Ashwin who will now have to fight for his spot with another all rounder in the form of Shardul Thakur.

However this confusion of selecting a perfect playing 11 for the test match has raised voices amongst veteran cricketers regarding their own experiences and opinions of who should be in the playing 11 on the Boxing Day.

“I think Ashwin should play”-Turbanator Harbhajan Singh picks veteran off spinner Ashwin ahead of Shardul Thakur.

Former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that the visitors should opt for Ravichandran Ashwin at No. 8 instead of seam-bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur against South Africa.

In overseas conditions, the Asian giants have generally backed their five-bowler theory with three pacers, a spinning all-rounder in Ravindra Jadeja and Thakur. However, Mohammed Shami is unavailable and Prasidh Krishna is likely to replace him in the XI. Hence, Harbhajan feels the visitors need batting depth which Ashwin could provide better.

Speaking on his Youtube channel, the veteran offspinner also spoke about the fact that Ashwin through his experience would be able to et more out from the wicket than Shardul Thakur.

He said:

“According to me Rohit Sharma and Yashaswi Jaiswal will open. Shubman Gill would come in at number three and the fourth spot will be for Virat Kohli. The fifth and sixth spots belong to Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul respectively.

“For number seven Ravindra Jadeja but the biggest question comes at number 8 with Ashwin and Shardul available. I feel Ashwin should play at number 8 because you have Jasprit Bumrah for number 9, Siraj for 10 and Prasidh Krishna for 11.”

Harbhajan Singh added:

“But here I feel the conditions will be hot, the pitch will be hard, the bounce will be there and you have three pacers so I think India should go with two spinners. I feel South Africa would love to place pace so I think you should play on your strengths. I feel Ashwin should play but I don’t see that happening.”

Decision to play Shardul Thakur over Ashwin in WTC final was right

Harbhajan Singh still backed his statement during the WTC final 2023 that India made the right decision by benching Ashwin over Thakur against Australia. He explained how conditions were different in England than they are in South Africa, which warranted a spot for the seaming all-rounder.

On this, Harbhajan said:

“The biggest debate is whether Shardul should play or Ashwin, this topic became a heated discussion during the World Test Championship. The conditions there were different because the ball seams on Day 1 so I feel Shardul was the right choice according to those conditions. There was a lot of grass on the wicket, even though he couldn’t make an impact I feel the decision was right.”

With rain forecast on Day 1 of the first Test at Centurion, it is unlikely that India would go in with two spinners and so it seems Ashwin has to wait for his chance to become the second bowler after legendary Anil Kumble to take 500 or more wickets in test cricket for India.