Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly thinks KL Rahul, not Shikhar Dhawan, is a better choice to open the innings in the coming Test series. India vs England five-match Test series will start on 1 August at Edgbaston.
Speaking to Australian media outlet cricket.com.au, Dada said that Shikhar Dhawan is a better One Day International batsman and young wicket-keeper batsman KL Rahul should open Indian innings with Murali Vijay.
“I would go with Murali Vijay and KL Rahul as openers in the Test series,” Sourav Ganguly said.
“Shikhar Dhawan is a good ODI player, and he was in decent touch during the ODI series as well, however, when he opens in Test cricket in overseas conditions, he doesn’t have a good record, be it South Africa, England or Australia,” Dada added.
So far, Shikhar Dhawan’s performance in the longest format of the game has not been up to the mark. Dhawan’s performances in Tests against South Africa, England and Australia was quite disappointing. The 32-year-old left-hander batsman currently averages 22.06 in 18 Test innings. In England, Dhawan’s figure drops to 20.33 from six innings.
Even in the three-day warm-up match against County Cricket team Essex, Shikhar Dhawan failed with the bat. On the contrary, Murali Vijay and KL Rahul scored fifties.
“In India, he (Shikhar Dhawan) scores hundreds in Test cricket … it will be interesting to see the team management’s decision on this,” Sourav Ganguly added.