Ind vs Eng 1st Test – Mayank Agarwal set to be dropped from playing XI: Coach Ravi Shastri and Indian selection committee are scratching their heads ahead of forthcoming India vs England Test series as they have no choice but to drop Mayank Agarwal from India’s playing XI for the first Test of the four-match Test series, which is scheduled to begin from February 5 in Chennai.
Mayank average whopping 99.50 in Tests in India: According to the information coming in from team India’s camp, despite of Bradman like average at home, Agarwal is set to lose his opening spot to Shubman Gill. Gill who was India’s find of the Test series against Australia, will pair with India’s regular opener Rohit Sharma for the 1st Test. Moreover, with skipper Virat Kohli returning to the side, Mayank can’t find a spot in the middle-order as well, thus forcing the Team India management to drop the Karnataka batsman.
- Agarwal boasts of great batting record in India.
- Mayank has played five Tests on home soil and scored 597 runs including three centuries.
- His Highest Score is 243 Runs
Disappointing show in Australia will cost Mayank Agarwal dearly: Agarwal opened in the first Test at Adelaide and scored 17 and nine in two outings. India lost the Test as the tourists were shot out for 36 in their second essay – which means not only Mayank but every Indian batsman played horribly in that match.
However, Mayank once again flopped in the second Test. In the first innings, he registered a duck and in the second innings, he scored five. While, Gill, who was making his debut, scored 45 in his first outing and 35* in his second as he carried his bat through. India won the Boxing Day Test by eight wickets, but Mayank was dropped from the side after four failures and replaced by Rohit Sharma – who was making a comeback to the side.
In the third Test, Gill and Rohit opened the innings for India and the former hit his maiden fifty in the first innings and followed it up with a promising 31. 21-year-old Shubman not only scored runs but also helped India not lose early wickets as he stitched decent partnerships with Rohit, thus cementing his place in the playing XI.
The fourth and the final Test in Brisbane was a chance for Agarwal to redeem himself as he was picked in the playing XI due to numerous injuries in the Indian squad and despite not playing as an opener, Agarwal scored important 35 runs to help India get close to the Australia total while coming to bat at no. 5. Notably, Gill was dismissed for mere 7 runs in the same innings.
However, Agarwal once again failed in the second innings as he scored just nine runs, while Gill took the honours with his stupendous 91-run knock which set the stage for India’s historic win at the Gabba.
Hence, Gill is all but certain to play his first Test in India, while Agarwal, despite having a prolific record at home, is set to warm the bench and rue his bad luck.
India’s probable XI for the first Test against England: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel/Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah