Sanjay Manjrekar Reveals His Choice Of Openers For India In Tests Against Australia

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has named his choice for the openers in India’s upcoming Test series in Australia. India are currently battling it out in the limited-overs leg of the tour where they trail the ODI series by 1-0. With the tourists having plenty of options in their repertoire, they will have their task cut out. Nevertheless, Sanjay Manjrekar has picked Prithvi Shaw to open alongside Mayank Agarwal.

Prithvi Shaw was not in the best of the forms in IPL 2020 as he constantly looked vulnerable against the moving ball. The young right-handed batsman started brightly; however, he kept waning as the tournament progressed and became a walking wicket. Shaw managed 228 runs in 13 matches at 17.54 alongside a decent strike rate of 136.53. Shaw, who was part of Delhi Capitals, reached the final of IPL 2020 where they lost to Mumbai Indians.

As far as his Test record goes, Prithvi Shaw averages 55.83 in four Tests; however, had a forgettable outing in New Zealand. The 21-year old, who is one of the few to score a Test century on debut, managed only 98 runs in four innings in New Zealand with one fifty. With Rohit Sharma likely to miss the first two Tests and Mayank Agarwal’s position booked, there is tussle between KL Rahul and Prithvi Shaw.

Let’s see how it goes: Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar assumed that if Rohit Sharma misses the first two Tests, he will go with Prithvi Shaw with Mayank Agarwal to open the innings. Hence, if Shaw fails, Shubman Gill could be slotted in while Ajinkya Rahane bats at number four followed by Hanuma Vihari once Virat Kohli leaves. Sanjay Manjrekar feels that if Shubman Gill does not open the innings, he should bat at number six.

“Mayank Agarwal walks in as opener in Tests, let’s assume that Rohit is not playing the first two Tests, I would go for Prithvi Shaw as the second opener. Let’s see how it goes and if Shaw shows the poor form as he did in the IPL, then Shubman Gill can be looked at. In Virat’s absence, Ajinkya Rahane should step up and bat at number four. Hanuma Vihari can bat at number five, if Shubman is tried in the middle order, then he should bat at number six,” Manjrekar said as quoted by Hindustan Times.

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