Former opener Aakash Chopra said Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer should play ahead of former vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane if the Indian team picks six batsmen for the first Test against South Africa starting on Sunday.
Rahane has gone through a poor run with the bat and lost his vice-captaincy since his match-winning century against Australia in last year’s Boxing Day Test. Iyer had a stellar start against New Zealand, where he scored a century and a half-century in two innings of his first Test, while Vihari, who scored three half-centuries for India A against South Africa A, is also a strong contender. . cut.
“The biggest question for the Indian team is how many batsmen to play. I will not play Rahane even if you play six batsmen. I am going with Hanuma Vihari because you sent him to South Africa, just some form Adaptation to get and get, and he scored,” Aakash Chopra said in a video shared on his YouTube channel.
“You gave Shreyas Iyer his debut and he scored a century and a half-century and cemented his position. Rahane, of course, is the senior man, but he is no longer the vice-captain. I would like to play six batsmen, and I will Shreyas Iyer. And Hanuma likes to play Vihari’s character.”
Aakash Chopra named his playing XI for India in the first Test against South Africa.
“In my opinion, the team should have Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, three fast bowlers – Shami, Bumrah and Siraj.
“If you want to play five bowlers, you have to play Shardul Thakur”
Chopra said that Shardul Thakur would be the best choice along with Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin to play India’s first Test against South Africa at Centurion.
Thakur has been in excellent form with the ball in Tests this year, taking 14 wickets in 3 matches at an average of 22.07 and scoring 232 runs with the bat at 37.20.
“KL Rahul said they want to play five bowlers. If you want to play five bowlers, you will play Shami, Bumrah, Siraj, you have to play Shardul Thakur – you can’t go with two spinners, and Ravichandran Ashwin.