Ind vs Aus: Rahane should bat at number 4 in Kohli’s absence, says Manjrekar

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Former Indian Batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Ajinkya Rahane should promote himself at number 4 in batting order in absence of Virat Kohli from 2nd Test Match onwards as Kohli will be on paternity leave after playing first test against Australia. However, the biggest problem for Indian team now will be Ishant Sharma who was a prominent part of Indian Test lineup in last few years has been ruled out from the Test series due to injury whereas the uncertainty lies over Rohit Sharma’s availability that whether he will join the Indian Team for Red ball cricket or not which will be cleared till 10th December 2020 as the ace batsman is currently in Bengaluru in National Cricket Academy and recovering from his hamstring injury.

Also Kohli’s recent statement on Rohit Sharma where he said that there is lack of confusion, clarity that why didn’t Rohit Sharma travelled with the team for the tour of Australia hasn’t gown down well with the fans. It is clear that in white-ball series against Australia Kl Rahul will don the gloves and Mayank Agarwal will open the batting with Shikhar Dhawan.

“Mayank Agarwal walks in as opener in Tests, let’s assume that Rohit is not playing first two tests, I would go for Prithvi Shaw as the second opener. Let’s see how it goes and if Shaw shows the poor form as he did in the IPL, then Shubhman gill can be looked at. In Virat’s absence, Ajinkya Rahane should step up and bat at number four. Hanuma Vihari can bat at number five, if Shubhman is tried in the middle order then he should bat at number six,” Manjrekar told ANI.

“Rahane has been average more than 50 in last 9 Tests, we will have to wait and see whether Rahane steps up, in fact, it’s a question for entire batting lineup stepping up, we have only seen them in white-ball cricket, Kohli not being thereafter the first Tests is a massive setback. In Foreign conditions, Kohli is half the Indian batting, Pujara stepped up last time in Australia, Kohli has been India’s most dependable player in foreign conditions, so his absence will be a huge setback. This particular series against Australia is a test of depth of India’s cricket talent in Tests,” he added.

India and Australia are locking horns against each other in Australian backyard for three ODIs, three T20Is and four Tests. The live telecast of these matches can be seen on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 3 and Sony Six channels. Also we can enjoy live streaming of these matches through Sony Liv app. Whereas, DD Sports will telecast live matches between Indian and Australia starting from November 27th 2020. Also, Airtel postpaid and Jio subscribers can watch the IND vs AUS ODI series live on Airtel Stream and Jio TV platforms, respectively. It will not easy for Indian team to beat Australia this time especially in presence of their two prime batsmen Steven Smith and David Warner back in the Australian side.

As the Indian team wore retro jersey ahead of playing first ODI against Australia which is identical to the jersey they wore in 1992  World Cup. Manjrekar and Moore who were part of 1992 World Cup squad shared their photograph on social media wearing the same retro jersey.

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