Sanjay Bangar pointed that Shreyas Iyer will be high on confidence after his exploits against New Zealand. As India gear for their upcoming tour to South Africa, where the team will play a set of three Tests and as many ODIs, the talks have been about picking the best possible playing XI for the red-ball format. Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar too joined the bandwagon and weighed his views on the selection calls.
Sanjay Bangar Feels Hanuma Vihari Should Be Given A Chance Ahead Of Shreyas Iyer
The former all-rounder feels that the management should hand Hanuma Vihari a chance ahead of Shreyas Iyer going into the series. Hanuma Vihari after being left out of India’s squad for the two-match Test series against New Zealand was included in India A team and he played in South Africa in the four-day matches, which ended in draws.
Shreyas Iyer, on the other hand, was handed a Test debut in Kanpur and the middle-order batter made an instant impact hitting a ton and fifty in his maiden venture.
Responding to a question on who he thinks should be picked between the two, Sanjay Bangar said: “If the choice has to be between Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari, I would tilt towards Hanuma Vihari because of the kind of service he has done. He deserves that chance to bat ahead of Shreyas Iyer in an overseas Test match.”
Sanjay Bangar, however, pointed that Shreyas Iyer will be high on confidence after his exploits against New Zealand. Shreyas Iyer became the first Indian to score a century and a half-century on Test debut in the Kanpur Test against New Zealand.
“I think Shreyas at the moment is high on confidence. If the thinking of the team management is that young careers have to begin in Indian conditions, so there is confidence for Shreyas Iyer,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sanjay Bangar also explained a couple of reasons for picking Hanuma Vihari ahead of Shreyas Iyer.
He said: “Look at Hanuma Vihari. He is somebody who has played the hard yards, who has got a hundred in West Indies, he saved a Test match for you in Sydney. Whenever he was asked to open the innings, he did that. He played on a single leg to save a Test match and he got a hundred.”
Shreyas Iyer twice revived India in the Kanpur 1st Test after a top-order failure, scoring 105 and 65 to script history, despite India drawing the 1st Test by failing to pick up the last Kiwi wicket.
The two-match Test series saw him making a memorable debut in Kanpur which saw him scoring a ton -105 followed by a fifty-65. This was followed by a massive victory at his home city-Mumbai. He finished his debut Test series as the second-highest run-getter.
Shreyas Iyer scored 18 and 14 in the 2nd Test and both times fell to Ajaz Patel, who picked all 10 Indian wickets to fall in the 1st innings and 4 in the 2nd innings. The series against South Africa starts with the red-ball Test format, with the first Boxing Day Test starting from December 26 in Centurion.