Pat Cummins picks his World Test XI, includes Virat Kohli for No.5 slot

The cricket fans eagerly await the grand battle between the number one ranked Test team India and number two side New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final at Rose Bowl in Southampton.

The Virat Kohli-led side qualified for the mega contest after beating top Test nations such as England, Australia and South Africa. On the other hand, the Kiwis booked the place in the WTC finals after defeating Pakistan, Bangladesh, West Indies and India as well.

All eyes are set on the upcoming summit clash, with experts claiming both India and New Zealand are equally powerful and have excellent team combination. Meanwhile, Australian pace sensation Pat Cummins has revealed his World Test XI, featuring the best players belonging to different teams.

Cummins is currently spending his quarantine in Sydney after arriving from the Maldives following the postponement of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 earlier this month. In a chat with Cricbuzz, the New South Wales bowler picked four Australians, four Indians, and one each from New Zealand, England and South Africa for his Test XI.

Cummins began by choosing the openers in the form of David Warner and Rohit Sharma. While Warner has amassed 7311 runs from 86 Tests at an average of 48.1, Rohit has scored 2615 runs in 38 games at 46.7.

For numbers three, four and five, Cummins picked New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, Aussie teammate Steve Smith and Indian captain Virat Kohli, respectively. Smith is currently the second-highest run-scorer in Tests among active players with 7540 runs. Similarly, Kohli has 7490 runs to his name, and Williamson has amassed 7115 runs in the longest format.

The 28-year-old went with one all-rounder in the form of England’s Ben Stokes. He gave wicketkeeping duties to star Indian player Rishabh Pant.

Among the pacers, Cummins picked India’s Jasprit Bumrah, South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada and himself. Not to mention, the Aussie pacer is currently the leading wicket-taker in WTC and holds the number one spot among bowlers in Test cricket. Kagiso is the ninth-ranked bowler, while Bumrah is positioned at 11th place.

Cummins named Nathan Lyon as the lone specialist spinner in his team. Lyon is the third-highest wicket-taker for Australia in the oldest format. He has taken 399 scalps from 100 matches.

Here is Pat Cummins’ World Test XI:

David Warner, Rohit Sharma, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes, Rishabh Pant (wk), Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah.

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