Former India pacer Ashish Nehra has opined that when the team management sits to pick the Indian team for the first Test of the upcoming series against South Africa in Centurion, former vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane will be at the most risk of being dropped from the XI.
The Indian middle-order batter has scored at a poor average of 19.57 in Tests this year, and recently lost his role as the vice-captain of the side. On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer scored 105 and 65 on his Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur, making a strong case for his inclusion at the no.5 spot.
Nehra said that while other middle-order batters like Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara were also struggling to get big runs, they were successful in scoring half-centuries and keeping themselves afloat in the XI. Also, the team management cannot drop captain Virat Kohli for not scoring a century since 2019.
“It's difficult undoubtedly. There have been some injuries but you have to find a solution. If you solely go by stats, even Kohli has been inconsistent for the past 1-1.5 years and that is why I think you cannot just rely on numbers. You can't say 'let's drop Kohli'. Even Pujara has not been in good form. But yes, Rahane is probably at the most risk,” said Nehra on Cricbuzz.
“In the previous series against New Zealand, Rahane was the captain in the first Test. When Virat came in the second, Rahane wasn't in the XI. So, whether you opt to play with 5 batters or 6 in the first Test against South Africa, it is difficult for Rahane to find a spot,” he added.
Furthermore, the Indian team will be without Rohit Sharma in the XI, as he injured his hamstring and Nehra believes this leaves Kohli and Pujara to step up and score runs for the team. India has not won a Test series in South Africa and many believe that this is their best chance.
"It is not new for Kohli or Pujara. He treats challenges as opportunities. In the last tour, two of the three pitches were challenging in Jo'burg and Cape Town. If we get similarly challenging pitches this time, you hope that the two put out good performances.
He wasn't in the team a few months ago. Now, he's the vice-captain. He is also experienced. In the lower-middle order, even as Hanuma Vihari or Shreyas Iyer don't have the experience in terms of number (of Tests played), but the way the game has moved on with three formats and the IPL, we can safely say that this is an experienced batting lineup. The only question is whether they will go with five batters or six,” Nehra signed off.
(Cricbuzz inputs)
