Former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer reckons Shubman Gill and Hanuma Vihari missed the opportunity to seal their place in the Test playing XI. Gill was dismissed cheaply after scoring four runs while Hanuma Vihari could only manage 11 runs despite facing 44 balls in the second innings of the ongoing fifth Test match against England at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
Gill once again poked a good length delivery from James Anderson whereas Vihari was invited to play the cover drive by Stuart Broad and he took the bait. In fact, Gill had scored 17 runs in the first innings while Vihari had added 20 runs but both of them failed to convert their starts.
It was a golden opportunity for both of these batters to grab their chances but they will be disappointed as they could not get a big score.
Jaffer reckons that players like Sarfaraz Khan and Suryakumar Yadav are knocking on the selection doors as they are playing consistently in the domestic circuit.
Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, he said: “(On whether Gill and Vihari missed out on the opportunity to cement their place) Yes. Because after this the main players like Rohit Sharma and Rahul will come back. Players like Sarfaraz Khan are knocking on the door and even Suryakumar Yadav is available. So yes to some extent (they have missed a chance).”
On the other hand, Jonny Bairstow was the lone warrior for England as he scored a fine knock of 106 runs in the first innings as the hosts were able to get to 284 runs because of him. However, Jaffer believes England can not rely on only one batter to do the bulk of the scoring and Joe Root and captain Ben Stokes will also hold the key.
“(On whether England can even chase 400 with Bairstow) To some extent yes, but I think it will be very difficult to depend on just one person. This is because even Root and Stokes are important batters in this team.”
India has put their noses in front as they have a lead of 257 runs and have seven wickets in hand in the second innings. The visitors were 125-3 at the end of the third day’s play with settled Cheteshwar Pujara (50*) and Rishabh Pant (30*) at the crease.
