India recently won the first Test of the two-match series against Sri Lanka in Mohali comfortably, winning the fixture by an innings and 222 runs. Sunil Gavaskar revealed that he will prefer Mayank Agarwal over Shubhman Gill as an opener in the Test squad as the Mayank bats like a boss in India.
India made an impressive start to the two-match Test series, winning the Mohali Test by an innings and 222 runs. Mayank Agarwal has been giving good starts to the Indian team recently in red-ball cricket. He has scored 52, 47 and 44 in his last three innings. Shubhman Gill is not playing in the squad but when he comes back in the line-up, it might be a difficult choice for selectors to choose an opener. Gill has been away from the game for a few months.
Hanuma Vihari had been waiting on the sidelines for a very long time. He has utilized most of the opportunities he got but was unable to feature in an already stacked middle-order. Now with the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in the squad he can be slotted in the middle-order.
Former India cricketer Sunil Gavskar preferred Mayank Agarwal over Shubhman Gill as Mayank bats like a boss in India, and Gill has been also away from the game recently. However, Gavaskar also mentioned that Agarwal doesn’t score runs overseas.
“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,” Gavaskar said on Sports Tak.
“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. 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.”
Shreyas Iyer has been in sublime form recently. He was adjudged as the Player of the Series against Sri Lanka in T20Is. He was also impressive on his Test debut against New Zealand, scoring a scintillating knock scoring a ton. Gavaskar wants Iyer to continue his place in the squad.
“As for Shreyas Iyer, the kind of form he showed in the white-ball series (against Sri Lanka), and the way he started off his Test career in December against New Zealand, I think this should be our top five,” Gavaskar stated.
