Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes the Asian Giants will have a tough road ahead in the wake of the humiliating defeat against South Africa by a 1-2 margin. After a winning start to the three-match series, the visitors lost the last two matches to go down against a transitional Proteas series.
The entire batting unit failed apart from a performance here and there. Harbhajan pointed out that amid all speculations surrounding Ajikya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, Mayank Agarwal’s failures have gone unnoticed.
Mayank managed to accumulate only 135 runs in six innings at an average of 22.50. Harbhajan Singh pointed out two cricketers who replace the incumbent opener in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.
“Mayank Agarwal got six innings but he didn’t make use of the opportunity, which is a sign that some new player might come. Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw can be seen in the next series because six innings is more than enough for a player. Mayank is a good player whom I support but since he hasn’t scored enough so I don’t know what will be the way forward from here,” said Harbhajan in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
Shubman Gill missed the England series owing to an injury and since then has been waiting in the wings for an opportunity. On the other hand, Prithvi Shaw last played a Test match during the tour of Australia in 2020-21. However, a string of poor scores saw him out of the squad.
Way Ahead Will Be Difficult For Rahane-Pujara: Harbhajan Singh
Coming down to Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, Harbhajan Singh believes the veteran batters will have a tough time retaining their berth in the Test side.
“Rahane and Pujara played 50-run knocks in Johannesburg but expectations from seniors are much higher than this. They haven’t scored enough runs and I personally feel the way ahead from here will be difficult for them.”
“Players like Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, who scored a hundred in the previous series are waiting for their opportunity and I feel the way Rahane and Pujara performed they have actually opened the doors for Iyer and Suryakumar,” said the former cricketer.
The likes of Suryakumar Yadav Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari are waiting in the ings along with Gill and Shaw to take their place in the XI.
The Indian cricket team plays its next Test series against Sri Lanka at home from February 25-March 18. The first Test match starts in Bengaluru on February 25.
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