'India Must Go With Two Spinners At The Oval', Says Monty Panesar

An Oval Test match in the month of June does bring in the fear of unknown but former England left-arm spinner Monty Panesar would still want Indian team management to field both Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the upcoming World Test Championship final against Australia. The WTC final will be played at the Oval from June 7-11. In 140 years of Test match history, this is the first time that the iconic South London ground is hosting a Test match in the month of June when the pitch is green and fresh.

A Test match at the Oval is always the last game of a series for the visiting side, either during end of August or early September when pitches are dry and aid slow bowlers.

"It is one pitch in England you tend to play two spinners. If the ball turns, there is bounce as well for the spinners. In my view the wicket will be flat. In these conditions, it will suit India if they play two spinners. We have already seen Australia struggling against spinners, especially from India," Panesar, who featured in 50 Tests for England, told PTI.

Playing two spinners did not work out for India in the WTC final at Southampton two years ago but Panesar feels the Rohit Sharma led side will be better served with that combination at The Oval.

"The weather has been hot and we are seeing the ball turning even in some T20 Blast games in London. I also don't see them keeping grass because they would want the match to last at least four days," Panesar added.

Talking about the pace department, Panesar picked Umesh Yadav as the third pacer ahead of Shardul Thakur. Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are automatic selections in the playing eleven.

"It will also be interesting to see who the seamers will be as they have lot of options there as