Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar was effusive in praise for ‘Boss’ batsman Mayank Agarwal.
Ahead of the second Test versus Sri Lanka, Sunil Gavaskar preferred India continue with Mayank Agarwal as the opener despite Shubman Gill being in the squad having recovered from the injury that saw him miss the South Africa tour.
Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that Agarwal has a stellar record in home Tests and while he has been under-performing outside India, he should be given the position until the incumbent KL Rahul returns from injury.
Mayank Agarwal has quite a contrasting record in India and outside. At home, the 31-year-old averages a mammoth 79, having struck 4 centuries, two of those being double hundreds, in just 8 Tests, while away from home, he averages a mediocre 25 in 12 Tests.
Giving Agarwal a nice nickname while speaking on Sports Tak, Gavaskar said, “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.”
Regarding to Shubman Gill, Gavaskar pointed out that Gill hasn’t played any domestic game for three months as he was recovering from his injury, and is short of match practice. Hence, he believes Agarwal, who scored a fluent 33 in the Mohali Test, should continue to open in the second Test versus Sri Lanka.
“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,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
Sunil Gavaskar is happy with Hanuma Vihari being slotted at number 3 and Shreyas Iyer at number 5 replacing Pujara and Rahane respectively. The legendary opener reckons both the batters should get an extended run in those positions.
“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.
“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,” Sunil Gavaskar opined.
The Bangalore Test, which starts on Saturday, is a day-night contest and will be played with the pink ball.
