Former India cricketer, Murali Karthik insisted that India should rest Virat Kohli in the second Test against Windies and opt for Mayank Agarwal.
Meanwhile, the hosts outplayed the visitor’s in the first Test beating them by an innings and 272 runs. The Windies team surrendered entirely within three days at Rajkot. Seeing the current state of the Windies team, Murali Karthik has insisted to play Mayank Agarwal in place of Kohli.
Notably, Agarwal earned a long-awaited call after a string of consistent scores in the domestic circuit. Karthik also pointed out the importance of trying different players ahead of the Australia series.
“That [playing Agarwal] was something that I was thinking about. You should look at what you’re trying to get from this series. You’re looking for players for Australia,” Murali Karthik told Star Sports India.
“Did Virat Kohli have to play? You can possibly win this Test series without Virat Kohli. The way he got some rest for Asia Cup,” he added.
Mayank Agarwal can get a chance
Murali Karthik opined if the management thinks Mayank as an option in Australia, they should play him in the second Test. He also feels KL Rahul or Virat Kohli can make way for him to get him some game time.
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“Mayank Agarwal is somebody who has been picked. Are you looking at him for Australia? If you’re looking at him, would you want to have a go in Test match cricket here? If they have that view, possibly give him a chance. You can possibly rest Rahul.
“I was actually asking Virat to sit out. He is a champion player. Against West Indies, no disrespect to them. When you see a team like that playing at this level, then Mayank Agarwal is possibly one option which you can look at in place of Virat or Rahul,” Murali Karthik concluded.