IND vs NZ 2nd Test: Former India batter VVS Laxman feels it will be difficult for the head coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Virat Kohli to pick the playing XI for the second Test against New Zealand.
IND vs NZ: VVS Laxman ahead of 2nd Test, ‘Cheteshwar Pujara has the ability to open, Mayank Agarwal’s performance was underwhelming’
The second Test between India and New Zealand will begin on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. The game will see the return of Kohli in the squad, but his comeback has left some selection dilemma for the hosts. “Shreyas Iyer batted in both the innings and to get a hundred in his first Test series and then to follow it up with a fantastic half century. Both these innings, mind you, have come when the team was under pressure, so it was a fantastic performance from Shreyas Iyer,” said Laxman on Star Sports show Follow The Blues.
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IND vs NZ 2nd Test: “It will be difficult, but I believe that Mayank Agarwal in both the innings gave an underwhelming performance and was uncomfortable at the crease. Cheteshwar Pujara has the ability to open, he has opened the innings previously.
“The number 3 position can be filled by Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli can come at number 4 and Shreyas can come in at number 5 because how can you ignore his performance,” he added.
IND vs NZ 2nd Test: Iyer stole the show on his Test debut last week and Laxman feels it will be difficult to ignore the performance of the batter ahead of the second Test.
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“So, I think it’s a tough call that Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli have to take. I hope that they take the right decision and don’t ignore the performance of Shreyas Iyer,” said Laxman.
India Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Wriddhiman Saha, KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
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