While ruining Murali Vijay’s unfortunate injury, India captain Virat Kohli, on Thursday (July 20), has advised that whoever opens the innings alongside KL Rahul in the upcoming three-match Test series against Sri Lanka should take it as an opportunity rather than feeling the pressure.
Vijay has been on the sidelines since undergoing a surgery after the series against Australia. However, he was expected to join the team for the Sri Lanka series after undergoing rehabilitation and resuming practice but missed the series after complaining of pain in his right wrist during a preparatory match. He was replaced by Shikhar Dhawan while Abhinav Mukund was already in the squad as the backup opener.
“Injuries are an unfortunate part of sport, any sport in the world,” Kohli said. “Vijay was back with his rehab, but he played a game and he felt he wasn’t up there and that’s credit to him for conveying it to the selectors and being honest in telling us that he wouldn’t be able to be match fit because there’s a lot riding on a Test match.
Vijay’s injury, nevertheless, will be a huge opportunity for both Dhawan and Mukund to prove their worth. Dhawan was out of the Test team since the New Zealand series where he played just one Test that too after Rahul was injured. The southpaw had scored 17 and 1 before suffering an injury. The selectors later opted for Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund. However, the Delhi star has hit a purple patch right now. He was the highest run-scorer in the Champions Trophy and looked in good touch during the West Indies tour too.
On the other hand, Mukund had got a chance to prove himself when he was given the opportunity to open the innings in the second Test against Australia. However, the southpaw, who scored 849 runs in the last Ranji Trophy, squandered the opportunity, scoring 0 and 16 before Vijay returned to the team.
And while both the players will be under pressure to deliver in order to cement their spot in the team, captain Kohli has advised them to take the chance as an opportunity.
“Abhinav has done really well in domestic cricket. Shikhar, when he came here last time, he got a hundred as well. Then he had to miss a couple of games. [Cheteshwar] Pujara opened in the last Test in the last series that we played here. So guys have started seeing such scenarios as opportunities and not as pressure scenario because now they feel privileged and they want to have any opportunity to play for the country and everyone wants to make a mark. No one wants to sit on the sidelines and watch other people go on with their business. I’m sure these guys are hungry,” Kohli said.
“And Shikhar’s coming back as well after being left out of the Test squad. He’s done really well in the Champions Trophy, he’s batting beautifully. Abhinav is very solid in his technique and Rahul, obviously, has been a champion opener for us. So all these guys are coming back really hungry because we haven’t played any Test cricket after February,” the skipper added.