India Test opener Mayank Agarwal may have done wonders in the longest format so far but his Test credentials are unlikely to get him a spot in the limited-overs format. As per a report in The Times of India, Mayank is unlikely to be selected for the West Indies series. India play the Kieron Pollard-led side in three T20Is and as many ODIs from December 6 to 22.
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“Players can go through ups and downs. Mayank can only come in only if Rohit or Shikhar want to take rest, but he won’t be rushed into the T20 side,” a source was quoted as saying by TOI.
“Where is the space in the opening department in the limited overs team? Rohit (Sharma) and Shikhar (Dhawan) are your established openers. There’s no slot at the top for even someone like KL Rahul now. Virat (Kohli) will come back into the team as well,” he added.
Mayank, who missed out on selection in the Asia Cup 2018, got his first ODI call-up for World Cup 2019 when he was called in as a replacement for Vijay Shankar. With KL Rahul moving up in the batting order after an injury to Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank did not get a chance to make his debut at the biggest stage.
He was surprisingly dropped from the squad for West Indies ODIs that were played after World Cup and is not in the scheme of things in white-ball cricket.
It is highly likely that the selectors might drop Shikhar Dhawan from T20I squad but still, Mayank will have a tough task as KL Rahul will move up in the batting order with Virat Kohli coming back for the series.
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With his consistent run with the bat, Shreyas Iyer has fixed his spot at number four and the opening spot is the only place where the team management can play Rahul in the shortest format.
Dhawan struggled in Bangladesh series and scored 91 runs with a strike-rate of 107.05. In three Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches he has played, the left-handed batsman has scored 28 runs off 33 deliveries.
The selectors name the squad for the West Indies series soon after the completion of the second Test against Bangladesh next week.