Former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock has said that having a high backlift doesn’t help in scoring to India opener Mayank Agarwal and Aiden Markram in the Test series. While Agarwal has scored 135 runs in six innings which came at an average of 22.50, including a half-century, Markram has done even worse. He managed only 60 runs in five innings at an average of 12 as well.

Analyzing the opener’s woes, Pollock said on Cricbuzz Chatter: “I think he’s got a little bit of a similar thing to Markram. I have never been a fan of guys who pick the bat up steep and keep it close. In order to defend or play, you’ve got to, sort of drop it into the slot. Guys who have their backlift quite low to the ground, Kallis, Root, Kohli to a degree, AB de Villiers, they can be soft on what they decide to do. When they want to bail out of a shot, they are not 100 percent committed to the downswing.”

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The South African legend has also added that batsmen can adjust their high backlift in subcontinental conditions, as the ball doesn’t nip around there.

Shaun Pollock added: “Him and Markram have a similar kind of issue on these surfaces that are nipping around. On flatter surfaces in India, you can rely on your bat speed and get away with it. But when you are asked (questions) by the movement through the air and off the seam, sometimes he (Agarwal) is found wanting. That may be something he has to have a look.”

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“Both teams haven’t batted to their potential. SA have a far lighter batting compared to India. But India, a lot of times, they start well but somewhere they seem to fritter away a bit. For me, if they can manage anything above 270, I think they would be sitting pretty in this Test match,” Shaun Pollock continued.