For the first time in nearly a decade, India will go into a Test match against Sri Lanka in Mohali from Friday without both Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. Rohit Sharma’s first Test as India’s full-time captain will see the Indian middle order without the combined experience of 177 Test matches.
Despite chief selector Chetan Sharma insisting that Door will remain open for Pujara and Rahane To get back in the Test team, dropping him from the Test team will give the youngsters opportunities. The home series against Sri Lanka, which was not a strength a decade ago, presents an opportunity for head coach Rahul Dravid and Rohit to test new faces in the middle order which has been a cause of concern lately. past tense.
Pujara and Rahane have been pillars of the Indian middle order, scoring over 10,000 runs between them, but a recent drop in form and lack of consistency affected India in South Africa earlier this year.
In Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara, India had two technically sound batsmen for the No. 3 spot in the last 2 decades. The duo was known for their relentless ability to crush opposition attacks and make life easier for the star batters at No. 4 – Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.
Is Vihari an ideal substitute for Pujara?
If India wants to go down that path again, Hanuma Vihari seems to be a good option for the No. 3 spot despite his inexperience to bat at the top of the order in international cricket.
However, Vihari has scored most of his runs in domestic cricket while playing at No.
Last month, Vihari scored a half-century against Chandigarh in Hyderabad’s victory in their Ranji Trophy match. While auditioning for the Test role, Vihari batted at No.
Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar said that Vihari could be the ideal replacement for Pujara at No.
“I want to see Hanuma Vihari at No. 3. He has a perfect game for No. 3 because you have to watch the new ball a little bit so that the middle order is protected,” Bangar told Star Sports.
“He is a player who has scored big runs in domestic cricket for a long time. He sat for more than 5000 runs, then played Test cricket, played some good innings too. After that, he had to miss because of this. Many reasons Pujara has done a great job for so many years, if anyone can fill that position very well, I think it is Vihari.”
While Vihari may be allowed to bat at No. 3 in Mohali, Shubman Gill is likely to bat at that position. Gill, who has opened for India, opened in all his innings in 10 Tests except the last one after injury concerns against New Zealand last year, where he was forced to bat at No.
Is Gill the only back-up opener?
Gill also has experience batting in the middle-order in domestic cricket and, unlike Vihari, can be used to enforce him at the coveted position, which would mean India drifting a bit away from their trademark No. 3 batsman.
Former India selector Devang Gandhi told PTI that Gill’s experience in handling the new ball as an opener will also help him reach No. 3 and the 2018 Under-19 World Cup star’s middle-order game with the India A team. was fast tracked. in mind for him.
Gandhi said, “Why do I think the team management might be inclined to try him at No 3, because when we fast-tracked him in the India A system, in the middle order against West Indies A against West Indies A? He had a double century.” said.
“As No. 3 who has already opened in Tests, he can also play the new ball well and start building the game with his repertoire of strokes. You don’t want to get bogged down,” he added. And with Gill, he can start pushing the envelope,” Gandhi explained.
It also remains to be seen what the team management thinks of Gill, who could become India’s first-choice opener in the future.
If Gill gets the No. 3 role, it will be interesting to see whether Vihari walks out to bat at No. 6 or No. 5 as Shreyas Iyer waits to claim his place in the team after scoring a century. Debut against New Zealand in December
In-form on Iyer No. 5?
Iyer’s stellar form in the recently concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka should work in his favor to get a middle-order role, preferably at No.5 or No.6.
There is no doubt that Virat Kohli will continue to bat at No 4 and depending on the situation, India will use Rishabh Pant as a floater in the middle order. Ravindra Jadeja’s superior batting performance also gives India an additional option. We have seen Jadeja move past Rahane at number 5 in England last year.
If India decide to play 7 batsmen, including Rishabh Pant, all three – Gill, Iyer and Vihari – could get a chance to be part of the XI.
When Rohit walks out for the toss with the team sheet on Friday, we will get a glimpse of India’s likely future batting line-up. Rohit and Dravid have a headache in all formats.