With some of the stalwarts like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane being excluded from the Test squad, India’s batting order looked different in the recently-concluded first Test against Sri Lanka in Mohali. While Hanuma Vihari batter at number three, Rahane’s position was taken by Shreyas Iyer. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill was seen warming the bench. With KL Rahul being unavailable for this series, the team management had to pick either Gill or Mayank Agarwal to open alongside Rohit Sharma.
Notably, Mayank Agarwal endured a hard time in the Test series against South Africa earlier this year. On the other hand, Gill has registered the knock of 52, 47, and 44 in his last three innings. Hence, many expected the latter to open, but the team management backed Agarwal.
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Speaking about India’s batting order, legendary Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar backed India’s decision to prefer Agarwal over Gill. While he highlighted the fact that Gill hasn’t played competitive cricket since the last couple of months, the former Indian skipper heaped massive praises on Agarwal for scoring big runs at home.
During a chat on Sports Tak, Sunil Gavaskar said, “He (Gill) hasn’t played any form of cricket in the last two months. He did not even play Ranji Trophy so if you have to play for India, you need some or the other type of practice. Of course, he has the talent, there is no doubt about it. But in the end, it is also about form, “
He further added, “And if you see carefully, Mayank Agarwal always scores big in India’s home series. He bats like a boss in India but doesn’t score runs overseas. In-home series, he has at least one big hundred or a double century. So, he should definitely open.”
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Sunil Gavaskar concluded, “Meanwhile, the batting legend also backed Vihari and Iyer to continue in the batting order. And at No. 3 there is Hanuma Vihari. What has he done wrong? In South Africa, in the one opportunity he got, he steadied the tail and batted defiantly, adding runs in India’s second innings. So he should get opportunities.”
