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Cricket Players‘He played on single leg to save Test’: Bangar bats for senior player in middle-order ahead of Shreyas Iyer for SA Tests
Sanjay Bangar, however, pointed that Shreyas Iyer will be high on confidence after his exploits against New Zealand.
As India gear for their upcoming tour to South Africa, where the team will play a set of three Tests and ODIs, the talks have been about picking the best XI for the red-ball format. Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar too joined the bandwagon and weighed his views on the selection calls.
The former all-rounder feels that the management should hand Hanuma Vihari a chance ahead of Shreyas Iyer going into the series. Vihari after being left out of India's squad for the two-match Test series against New Zealand was included in India A team and he played in South Africa in the four-day matches, which ended in draws.
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Iyer, on the other hand, was handed a Test debut in Kanpur and the middle-order batter made an instant impact hitting a ton and fifty in his maiden venture.
Responding to a question on who he thinks should be picked between the two, Bangar said: "If the choice has to be between Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari, I would tilt towards Hanuma Vihari because of the kind of service he has done. He deserves that chance to bat ahead of Shreyas Iyer in an overseas Test match."
The former India cricketer made the comments on Star Sports show Game Plan.
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Bangar, however, pointed that Iyer will be high on confidence after his exploits against New Zealand.
"I think Shreyas at the moment is high on confidence. If the thinking of the team management is that young careers have to begin in Indian conditions, so there is a confidence for Shreyas Iyer," he added.
Meanwhile, Bangar also explained a couple of reasons for picking Vihari ahead of Iyer. He said: "Look at Hanuma Vihari. He is somebody who has played the hard yards, who has got a hundred in West Indies, he saved a Test match for you in Sydney. Whenever he was asked to open the innings, he did that. He played on a single leg to save a Test match and he got a hundred."
The series against South Africa starts with the red-ball format, with the first Test starting from December 26 in Centurion.
