IND v WI 2018: Rest Virat Kohli in Hyderabad Test and give chance to Mayank Agarwal, says Murali Kartik

Virat Kohli scored his 24th Test ton in the first Test.

Mayank Agarwal finally got his India call-up after scoring tonnes of runs in domestic cricket India beat West Indies in the first Test at Rajkot by a record margin of an innings and 272 runs. All thanks to 24th Test century from Virat Kohli, and maiden centuries by Ravindra Jadeja and debutant Prithvi Shaw.

Cheteshwar Pujara contributed with 86 and then Ashwin picked four wickets in first innings and Kuldeep returned with a maiden fifer with Jadeja picking three wickets to round off an excellent match at home for him.

Now with the next Test of the series scheduled in Hyderabad from October 12, former India spinner and Cricket guru Murali Kartik has put forth the idea of resting Virat Kohli and bringing in Mayank Agarwal for his debut.

That [playing Agarwal] was something that I was thinking about. You should look at what you’re trying to get from this series. You’re looking for players for Australia,” Karthik told Star Sports India.

Did Virat Kohli have to play? You can possibly win this Test series without Virat Kohli. The way he was rested for Asia Cup,” he added.

I was actually asking Virat to sit out. He is a champion player. Against West Indies, no disrespect to them. When you see a team like that playing at this level, then Mayank Agarwal is possibly one option which you can look at in place of Virat or Rahul,” Karthik said.

There are certain players who play only Test match cricket. You don’t want people like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma to be missing out. Mayank Agarwal is somebody who has been picked. Are you looking at him for Australia? If you’re looking at him, would you want to have a go in Test match cricket here? Otherwise, I don’t think they have to change anything,” he believed.

(Inputs: Hindustan Times)

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 07 Oct, 2018

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