Sourav Ganguly raised serious questions about India’s team selection in the first Test

Dhawan-with-Kohli
Internet Desk:
 Former India skipper and Cricket Association of Bengal President Sourav Ganguly raised serious question on opener Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma’s inclusion in the playing XI in the first Test at Newlands, where the World No.1 side lost to South Africa by 72 runs. The cricket pundits raised question that why the team management didn’t give chances to Ajinkya Rahane & KL Rahul. According to Ganguly the team is heavily depending on opener Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli which is harmful for the visitors.

“History of Rohit Sharma and history of Shikhar Dhawan in overseas conditions are not very good. You look at their records, it’s like chalk and cheese when they go away and when they are in India. So you are basically depending on Murali Vijay and Virat Kohli as the two best performers in overseas conditions.

“Look at Cheteshwar Pujara. His 13 of 14 Test hundreds have come in sub-continent conditions. I keep saying about KL Rahul because he has scored runs in Australia, he has scored runs in West Indies and Sri Lanka. It’s not just about form, it’s also about where people score runs. But let’s not panic too much. I was not surprised by the result. I have tremendous regard for Virat Kohli and we will see an improved performance in the next game,” Ganguly told India Today on Tuesday.

Though the Men in Blue displayed a poor show in batting in the first Test at Cape Town, Ganguly strongly feels that the team management won’t change the team much at Centurion. ‘The Prince of Kolkata’ said that the Indian batsmen should fight more when they will face the Proteas bowlers in the second Test.

“I don’t think Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri will change the team straight away. There is a possibility that one of them (Ajinkya Rahane or KL Rahul) may come back. It could be Ajinkya Rahane in the middle in place of Rohit Sharma and there’s a possibility of KL Rahul coming at top of the order. India will have to bottle down and fight hard in the batting. The wicket in Centurion will be quick as well. It will have a lot more bounce than Cape Town. It may not seam as much as Cape Town but it will be lot quicker,” added Ganguly.

On being asked what would be his gameplan if he would lead the side in the second Test, Ganguly said,”I would actually play five bowlers and play KL Rahul in place of Shikhar Dhawan. Rahul because he has done well in overseas conditions. I would give Rohit Sharma one more opportunity. I wouldn’t tinker with the bowling line-up. All the batters have not scored runs. There’s not been a single fifty from the order. You got to put this behind and try and come back stronger in the next Test. Preparation is important and India have lost a bit there and faced not much of criticism. So India will have to fight their way into the next match.”

The second Test will begin from January 13 in Centurion and the visitors are trailing by 0-1 in the three-match Test series.