Ajinkya Rahane should play at number 4 in the absence of Virat Kohli, says Sanjay Manjrekar

Sanjay Manjrekar believes Ajinkya Rahane should step up to the number four position in the absence of Virat Kohli. Kohli is likely to play just one of the four Tests. Rohit Sharma's availability for the Test series is yet unclear as his fitness will be re-evaluated on December 11.

Manjrekar opines that Mayank Agarwal along with Prithvi Shaw can walk in as opener in Tests. He also added that if Rohit Sharma is not playing the first two Tests, then he would go for Prithvi Shaw as the second opener. But if Shaw shows the poor form as he did in the IPL, then Shubman Gill can be looked upon by the management. 

Ajinkya Rahane should step up to play at number 4, says Manjrekar

Talking about Virat's absence, Ajinkya Rahane should step up and bat at number four. Hanuma Vihari can follow the order by batting at number five. For number six, Shubman Gill can be a good option, if he is playing.

In the last nine Test matches, Rahane has been averaging more than 50. It is necessary to wait and see if Rahane steps up. It will be a question of the entire batting line-up as we have only seen them in white-ball cricket. Kohli's absence after the first Test is a massive setback for the whole team.

India and Australia will strive against each other in three ODIs, three T20Is, and four Tests, respectively. Both teams have begun their battle with the white-ball leg and the focus will shift to the T20Is after that. 

In Rohit's absence, Manjrekar opined for Mayank Agarwal to be the opening batsman. He positioned KL Rahul at number five to lend more cohesion to the line-up.

The commentator believes that Team India has a lot of depth when it comes to white-ball cricket. Rohit is almost irreplaceable, but it has quality options. Rahul scored more than 80 runs in three innings while batting at number five in India's last ODI series against New Zealand. Rahul first smashed a hundred as an opener, and then he listed scores of more than 80 while batting at number five.

Sanjay Manjrekar Picks Manish Pandey over Hardik Pandya

The all-rounder Hardik Pandya did not bowl even once in the 13^th edition of the Indian Premier League. When asked whether Pandya finds a place just as a pure batsman in the ODI unit, Manjrekar replied that he wouldn't play Hardik Pandya as a pure batsman, in T20 cricket. Sanjay would put him in the 50-over format. As a pure batsman Manish Pandey is always ahead of Hardik for ODI cricket, he added.

Manjrekar, who played 37 Tests for India, said that the focus of the Indian team would be for the most extended format. He will not be shocked if the management decides to rotate Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in ODIs and T20Is. The former Indian batsman also supported playing both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the white-ball game.

READ MORE Cricket articles here!