Gavaskar on Indian openers for the first Test: Former Indian captain advocated for current form being his criteria for making the decision.
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With the T20I leg of India’s tour of Australia over now, all the eyeballs have shifted towards the all-important four-match Test series which will commence from December 6 in Adelaide.
While the T20I series ended up in a 1-1 draw, fans and cricketers themselves would be hoping for a result in the Test series, which is expected to be a tightly fought contest between the two teams.
Given the Australian conditions, the visitors would be looking to make appropriate changes to their squad for they are in great need of sorting out a few issues in their playing eleven.
India were scheduled to play a four-day practice match from today but heavy rain in Sydney aborted the first day’s play. India would be hoping for the weather to improve today for the lone practice match means a lot to them as it will give them a chance to try out a few combinations.
Among one of the areas in which the Indian team needs to take a tough decision is the opening combination. With Lokesh Rahul, Prithvi Shaw and Murali Vijay in the squad, India will have to leave out any of them.
Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, who had early opined on India’s No. 6 for the first Test, has said that he would pick Shaw and Vijay out of the given options. Speaking on air, Gavaskar was quoted: “He [Shaw] is got to play the first Test. He has had his form not just in New Zealand, but also in the two Test matches that he played in home.
“Rahul’s form has not been well. If Rahul had been scoring runs in Australia, even in the T20s if he would have scored at least 30s or 40s, we could have said yes. But I agree with Robin Uthappa [co-commentator], I think it has got to be Murali Vijay and Prithvi. Vijay has been doing well overseas for a long time. It had been a pretty ordinary series in England, and that can happen to anybody. But he is a good player and I would like to see him open. He and Shaw will make just the right combination. For Shaw is attacking, like [Virender] Sehwag, he likes to get to the ball. Murali, on the other hand, will play the role of an anchor.”
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