Cricket Australia Announces 2021 Test XI, Four Indians Part Of It

Cricket Australia has named the Test XI for the year 2021. Including Ravichandran Ashwin, four Indians are part of the XI. Incidentally, only one Aussie finds his name in the XI named by the country's cricket board.

Four Indians part of Cricket Australia's Test XI of 2021

Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel are the four Indians in the XI. Ashwin is the highest wicket-taker, collecting 52 wickets in 2021. Axar Patel too had a fine year. Despite making his debut in 2021, he managed to collect 36 wickets. His performance helped India defeat England and New Zealand at home.

Rishabh Pant had a fine start to the year but faltered in England. It now needs to be seen if he can pick up his form. Rohit Sharma was India's best batter in Tests this year. He did well against England, both in India and on English soil.

Cricket Australia Test XI of 2021: Rohit Sharma, Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Joe Root, Fawad Alam, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravi Ashwin, Kyle Jamieson, Axar Patel, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Dimuth Karunaratne to captain the XI

Dimuth Karunaratne will captain the XI despite the presence of Joe Root. It is understandable considering Root has been poor with his captaincy this year. Joe Root had a solid year with the bat, though. He finished as the highest run-getter of 2021. Marnus Labuschagne and Pakistan's Fawad Alam are the other batters in the XI.

In the bowling department, Cricket Australia included Kyle Jamieson, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi. Jamieson enjoyed a fine year as he helped New Zealand win the first edition of the World Test Championship. Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali were also in top form in 2021. They helped their team win a few games. Hence, the pace-duo finds a place in this XI.