One of the biggest confusions that every captain goes through is the selection of best playing XI before heading to the titanic tussle with the opposition. The commander-in-chief has no other way but to go for the permutations and combinations.
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Indian team has no problems left in the respective batting slots. When one gets injured, the other who waits in the wings get the all-important chance. The Indian captain Virat Kohli faces opening conundrum before playing the 1st Test against Sri Lanka.
Murali Vijay is deemed as India’s Test specialist opener. He took a bit of risk and played with a fractured wrist during the Border Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia in March this year. With things had gone from bad to worse, he had to miss the power-packed IPL, forcing him to jet off to London for a surgery.
Vijay was ruled out of the away Test series against Sri Lanka for nursing his injury. However, his absence was a blessing in disguise for Shikhar Dhawan as this presented a wonderful opportunity for him to carry out his business with an emphasis much on solidifying his opening slot.
Much to everyone’s expectations, he utilised the chance to good effect. Dhawan who played three Tests after taking over Murali Vijay has essayed 358 runs in what was important for him to make a statement after getting the chance. Another problem arises in the selection that even KL Rahul is still in contention.
Now that Murali Vijay has recovered from the injury and fully regained shape. It will be interesting to see who will get the nod this time around. Virat Kohli addressed the media ahead of Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka spoke about India’s opening selection.
“That situation [opening combination] has always seen the balance swing, now and then, between two guys doing well and one missing out: it happened with KL Rahul initially and then with Shikhar in the middle. Now, with KL and Shikhar doing well, it is very difficult to pick two out of the three, when all are so good,” he added.
