IND vs SL: Hanuma Vihari Has Played Only One Test At Home And He, Above Everyone Else, Deserves A Fair Run – Devang Gandhi

Former India selector Devang Gandhi has opined that the 28-year-old Hanuma Vihari, who has played only one Test match in India, deserves a fair run.

Senior Indian batters Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been dropped from the Indian Test squad along with Wriddhiman Saha and Ishant Sharma ahead of the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka National Cricket Team.

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The No.3 and No.5 spot in the Indian Test batting unit is vacant with Rahane and Pujara getting dropped and there are three contenders – Hanuma Vihari Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill – fighting for those two positions.

Meanwhile, former opener Gandhi, while speaking to PTI, said that Vihari has got a fantastic record against spin bowling.

“Firstly, Vihari has played only one Test at home and he, above everyone, else deserves a fair run. Secondly, if you see for India and India A, he has batted at No.5 abroad but in India, he can come in at No.6 when spinners will be in operation and the ‘SG Test’ ball becomes relatively old.

“Vihari has a fantastic record against spinners in Ranji Trophy and that’s something the team management can exploit,” he felt.

If you see our top-order, Mayank, Rohit, Shubman and Virat are all right-handers – Devang Gandhi

Gandhi further added that the top-order batting unit of the Indian Test team consists of right-handed batters, so India should bat Rishabh Pant at No.5 followed by Vihari at No.6 and Ravindra Jadeja at No.7 to maintain the left-right combination. He said:

“If you see our top-order, Mayank, Rohit, Shubman and Virat are all right-handers. It’s better if at No.5 we have a left-hander to get the left-right combination going followed by Vihari at No.6 and Ravindra Jadeja, again a left-hander at No.7. It could be the way forward.”

The first Test match of the two-match Test series between India National Cricket Team and Sri Lanka National Cricket Team will be played at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh, from Friday, March 4.

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