There are three big questions facing Virat Kohli and the leadership of the Indian team ahead of the series opening day test match against Australia on Thursday. 1) Who should associate Mayank Agarwal at the top? 2) Rishabh Pant or Wriddhiman Saha as goalie-hitter? 3) Who will replace Ishant Sharma as the third closer?
The legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar gave definitive answers to the first two questions. Gavaskar named Shubman Gill and Mayank Agarwal as India’s starters and preferred Pant over Saha as India’s goalkeeper for the first test in Adelaide on Thursday.
The former India starter feels that the Indian team management should pick an aggressive Pant over a technically sound Saha.
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Pant’s a shocking 73-ball, 103-run hit in the second warm-up game, which also took place under the lights, should be enough for Pant to seal the spot for the wicket-keeper-batsman.
“It’s going to be difficult for the tour selection committee because Rishabh played in all 4 test matches four years ago. He also hit a hundred and seemed to get under the skin of the Australian players with his chirping behind the stumps.
“… when you had just left a hundred days earlier, I think he would be the management’s choice,” Gavaskar said.
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Gavaskar said he preferred Pant to a more skilled goalkeeper at Saha, as Australian fields are not as demanding when it comes to maintaining ground.
“When you play in fields where the goalkeeper has to stand up to the stumps, where the ball comes out a little bit, that’s when you tend to choose your best goalkeeper, in which case Wriddhiman Saha would be the obvious choice,” he explained.
“But here, India will have pacemakers where you can stay behind and have little more time, my feeling is that they will go for Rishabh,” Gavaskar said while watching the series bearing his name and Allan Border that will be broadcast live on Sony Networks.
Both Saha and Pant had equal opportunities to hit and hold ground during India’s first two warm-up games leading up to the test series. While Pant broke a ton in the pink ball warm-up game in which Saha had bagged a 22-ball duck in the first inning, the latter had scored 54 unbeaten in the second inning of the first warm-up game to guide India. to safety.
Gavaskar, meanwhile, hit for Shubman Gill over Prithvi Shaw to start alongside Mayank Agarwal on the series. “… India is a bit unstable at the top of the order. They don’t know who they are going with. Mayank Agarwal is, of course, a certainty. But who is the other starter, Shubman Gill or Prithvi Shaw? Gavaskar said.
“So with the uncertainty on top, they would like to strengthen their hitting and then Rishabh Pant will play. I hope he (Rishabh) plays at 6 because then that will allow you to choose 5 players to try to get 20 Australian fields, “he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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