England vs India 2018: Sunil Gavaskar Sheds Light on Prithvi Shaw
Published - 07 Sep 2018, 05:35 PM | Updated - 22 Aug 2024, 11:54 PM
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Former Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar thinks that it would be a fantastic opportunity to introduce promising top-order batsman Prithvi Shaw in The Oval Test against England.
England leads the series by 3-1 and India will be keen to finish off the series on a winning note.
However, Indian openers Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, and Murali Vijay struggled to get runs in the ongoing series. Vijay was dropped out from the third Trent Bridge Test after he scored two consecutive ducks in the second Test at Lord’s.
Moreover, he was also dropped from the final two Test matches before being replaced by Shaw. He is being in a prolific form and scored plenty of runs for India A.
Dhawan and Rahul have scored 158 and 113 runs in six and eight innings respectively. However, Gavaskar feels that this could be the best opportunity to bring Shaw to the senior side.
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity to blood Prithvi Shaw. I would look at him and Karun Nair if you want to go with an extra batsman. If you want to keep the same balance, then Ravindra Jadeja might get a look because I don’t know if Ravichandran Ashwin is fit to bowl,” Gavaskar told to India Today.
Sunil Gavaskar feels that it is a pitch that will suit India. Moreover, in the past years, The Oval Test is usually the last Test match where in India had already lost the series.
“I think it’s one of the pitches that should suit India, ball comes on nicely to the bat and there’s a bit of pace in the wicket and less of lateral movement. And I don’t really know how the wicket is like yet. I will go later and have a look at the pitch and the conditions.
“Playing the final Test after losing a series is not a good mental state to be in and perhaps this is why we have such a record at this ground where we have folded within three or four days,” Sunil Gavaskar added.
India will play their last Test match against England at The Oval on September 7, 2018 (Friday). Prithvi Shaw has been waiting in the wings for his burgeoning rise.
