IND vs SA 2025: Abhishek Nayar picks two wicketkeepers in India's Playing XI for first Test

Published - 12 Nov 2025, 11:41 IST | Updated - 12 Nov 2025, 12:07 IST

Former India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has shared his prediction on the Indian team's Playing XI for the first Test of the upcoming two-match series against South Africa. The match will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, as the Shubman Gill-led side will face a challenge from the reigning World Test Championship winners South Africa, led by Temba Bavuma.

Nayar has opted for the hosts to go with the second wicketkeeper in the form of Dhruv Jurel. He feels that Jurel showed a great sign of impression with his twin centuries for India 'A' in Bengaluru during the recently-concluded second four-day fixture. As a result, Jurel has been added to the Playing XI in addition to vice-captain Rishabh Pant by Nayar in his team combination for the Kolkata encounter.

While Jurel is a much-accomplished as a batter, the former Mumbai all-rounder also feels that Ravindra Jadeja should bat ahead of the stumper-batter, purely on the basis of the form he has shown of late. However, Jadeja is the only spinner he picked, ignoring the likes of star spinner Kuldeep Yadav as well as the spin-bowling all-rounders Washington Sundar and Axar Patel. He picked Nitish Kumar Reddy in his set-up.

Abhishek Nayar's India Playing XI for first Test: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah