Sanjay Manjrekar picks Ashwin over Jadeja for 1st NZ Test, gives rather simple reason

After winning the T20 series and facing defeat in the ODI series, Team India move on to the last stage of the New Zealand tour. Ahead of the Test series, several speculations have been made regarding the team composition to face the mighty Blackcaps on their home turf. Cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar also threw his names into the mix ahead of the first Test in Wellington. In a Q&A session on Twitter on Wednesday, Manjrekar revealed his team's composition on being asked for it. 

'He bowls well in first away Test'

Interestingly, in another question, when Manjrekar was asked who would his first choice spinner be between Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin for the first Test, the commentator had a rather simple reason for his choice. Manjrekar chose Ashwin over Jadeja for the first Test citing that the Chennai-lad bowls really well in first away Tests. Here's his tweet: 

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Through his question and answers session, the former cricketer also revealed that he thinks Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw have a stronger claim to be in the playing eleven. After Rohit Sharma sustained an injury in the T20 series, the ace opener missed the ODI series and has been rested for the Tests. With Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill both performing extremely well for India A team in the recent past, it seems to be a difficult decision for skipper Virat Kohli and the team management to pick one. 

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Manjrekar also sided with Team India for not picking in-form KL Rahul for the Test series. The commentator opined that the team made a very smart choice by not picking KL Rahul by keeping the format in mind as tests are too different from ODIs and T20s. When asked if he had any tips for skipper Virat Kohli, he replied that nothing fires 'the champion' (Kohli) up more than an away Test. Team India face New Zealand in the first Test at Wellington on February 21. 

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