Hanuma Vihari A Good Option To Replace Cheteshwar Pujara At No. 3 - Deep Dasgupta

Former India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta reckons the management could try Hanuma Vihari at number 3 in place of the out-of-form Cheteshwar Pujara.

After a 73 in the first innings of the first Test against England at home, Pujara’s highest score in 7 subsequent innings is 21; he scored 8 and 15 in the WTC final loss against New Zealand and seemed to have struggles scoring against the moving ball.

So, Deep Dasgupta feels that Vihari, whose last Test knock was the heroic blockathon in Sydney, could be given a go at number 3 considering he is, like Pujara, a solid player, but can also score run quicker. Deep Dasgupta also said Shubman Gill, who is likely to miss out on the England series due to injury, could be a long-term prospect at the number 3 position.

“India can try Hanuma Vihari at No. 3. In the long term you can try him, you can also try Shubman (Gill). You can also think of KL (Rahul) but I would see him at No. 5. There are many openers and you can adjust to No. 3 if you can adjust to the mindset. Hanuma is a good option,” Deep Dasgupta said in his YouTube video.

The problem is that whether Chahal wants to play Test cricket: Deep Dasgupta

Deep Dasgupta then talked about why leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal isn’t part of the Test set-up. He brings up Chahal’s numbers in first-class cricket – 84 wickets at 33.21 – which are ordinary.

“The problem is that whether Chahal wants to play Test cricket. If you see his Ranji Trophy numbers they aren’t that great and he also doesn’t play a lot. For India A, he was picked two years ago, but even there in New Zealand his performance wasn’t that great.

“In white-ball cricket, your defensive skill set takes you through. But in red-ball cricket your attacking skillset becomes more important. Thats why a lot of wrist spinners are successful in white-ball cricket than red-ball cricket,” the former ‘keeper explained.

Also Read: I Feel That The Turning Point Was How We Batted On Day 3 Of The WTC Final: Sanjay Bangar