Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar has revealed why Mayank Agarwal should continue to open the innings with Rohit Sharma ahead of Shubman Gill.
The Little Master stated that Mayank Agarwal bats like a boss in Indian conditions but his records in overseas conditions aren’t promising.
Agarwal has scored a truckload of runs in the Indian conditions and had also done a fine job for Karnataka in the domestic circuit. The right-hander has amassed 872 runs in eight Test matches in India at a splendid average of 79.27 and thus he has delivered the goods in the known conditions.
On the other hand, Agarwal’s records in the overseas conditions are a bit gloomy as he has gathered 590 runs in 12 Test matches at an average of 25.65. The right-hander had scored 33 runs in the first Test match against Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Shubman Gill has also shown the right promise to go a long way in his career. However, Gill hasn’t played any domestic cricket in the recent past and thus he doesn’t have enough game time. Gill had last played in the second Test match against New Zealand in December 2021 and had returned with scores of 44 and 47.
“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.”
Furthermore, the Little Master wants Shreyas Iyer to bat at number five. Iyer had scored 27 runs in the first Test match against Sri Lanka. Furthermore, the right-hander had scored a fine century on his debut against New Zealand at Kanpur.
“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,” mentioned the former India captain.
The second Test match between India and Sri Lanka will be played in Bengaluru from Saturday.
