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India vs Australia: ‘If he opens, India can convert their weakness into strength’ - Ashish Nehra picks his openers for Australia Tests
India vs Australia: India have four designated openers currently in their squad for the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy which begins December 17 – Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul.
It cannot be exactly called a weakness but India have plenty to ponder when it comes to deciding on their opening combination for the Test series against Australia. India have four designated openers currently in their squad for the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy which begins December 17 – Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul – and although Rohit Sharma likely to join the team for the final two Tests, for the first two, the toss up is between Agarwal and youngsters Shaw and Gill.
Gill has showed promising signs on the tour. He played the third ODI, scoring 33 in India’s win and followed it with 43 and 65 in the ongoing pink-ball practice match in Sydney. Agarwal hit 22 and 28 in the two ODIs and managed a duck and a half-century against Australia A. Shaw on the other hand, has registered a duck, 19, 40 and 3.
It will be interesting to see which opening combination India goes ahead with, but if it was in Ashish Nehra’s hands, he will go ahead with Agarwal and Rahul to open the innings in Adelaide. Rahul has been battling dodgy form in Tests, but his white-ball run has been phenomenal over the last year and a half, and Nehra reckons having Rahul open for India could work in the best interest of the team.
“There is question surrounding India’s opening pair, as to who will open with Mayank Agarwal. I wouldn’t exactly call it a weakness, but it surely is a concern at this point. You can look at Shubman Gill, or even Prithvi Shaw for that matter, but I believe it should be KL Rahul to open the batting for India. If he can score runs given the kind of form he is in, this weakness can transform into a strength for India. I would want him to play,” Nehra said in a video on Cricbuzz.
As for Mayank, Nehra has backed him on the basis of the form he showed against Australia two years ago. Making his debut for India in that series, Mayank scored 76 and 42 at the MCG and followed it with a knock of 77 in Sydney as India secured a memorable 2-1 Down Under to not only retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy but also register their first Test series win on Australian soil in 71 years.
“Mayank Agarwal had played a couple of useful innings for India during the previous tour. With him KL Rahul makes a lot of sense. He hasn’t had the best of runs for India in Tests in the last year and a half. He’s been dropped too, but it’s an opportunity for Rahul,” Nehra pointed out.
