Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has opined that Mayank Agarwal could not make use of the opportunity despite getting six innings in the recently concluded three-match Test series against South Africa.
Agarwal received his chance in the absence of injured Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill but failed to grab his opportunity.
The right-hander got off to a good start in the series as he scored a fine knock of 60 runs in the first innings of the opening Test match at Centurion. However, he could not continue the same form in the rest of the series as he could only muster 135 runs in three Test matches at an average of 22.50.
The Turbanator reckons that a new player in either Shubman Gill or Prithvi Shaw will be given a chance in the next Test series.
“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.
On the other hand, the former off-spinner from Punjab added that Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara’s poor run of form will open doors of selection for players like Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer, who are waiting in the wings. Both Rahane and Pujara are in poor form in the last two years and pressure is building on them.
“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.
India will now face South Africa in three-match ODI series.
