Former India player Sanjay Bangar thinks that Hanuma Vihari is an ideal replacement for Cheteshwar Pujara to bat at no.3 for the upcoming test series against Sri Lanka. Notable that the experienced duo- Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been dropped from the Test squad after their poor performance in the past year or so.
So the bigger question arises who should bat at no.3. Since Rahul Dravid’s retirement in January 2012, Pujara made this no.3 position his own in this time period. Some experts suggest that Kohli should move up the order. In his career, Kohli batted at no.3 in 6 innings and scored 97 runs with an average of 19.40. So he might stick with his favourite position no.4.
So the other possible candidates are Hanuma Vihari, Shreyas Iyer, and Shubman Gill. Speaking to Star Sports ahead of the series, former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar suggests that Hanuma Vihari has an ideal game to bat at no.3.
“I would like to see Hanuma Vihari at No. 3. He has an ideal game for No. 3 because you have to see off the new ball slightly so that the middle order is protected.” Sanjay Bangar said.
In his 13-match test career, Hanuma Vihari batted in the lower middle-order barring one match in which he opened with Mayank Agarwal in the Melbourne Test in 2018. Bangar feels with tons of experience in first-class cricket, he had all the ingredients to get success at no.3 position.
“Hanuma Vihari at No. 3 for the short term, But long term Shubman Gill can be a very good option at No. 3”- Irfan Pathan
“He is a player who has scored big runs in domestic cricket for a long time. He was sitting after scoring more than 5000 runs, then played Test cricket, played some good knocks as well. After that, he had to miss out due to a number of reasons. The job Pujara did exceeding well for so many years, if someone can fill that position very well, I feel it is Vihari.” he added.
Speaking in the same show, former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan thinks that Vihari should be trusted to bat at no,3 but he sees Shubman Gill as long-term no.3 in the future.
“You have to find answers to just two questions. Shreyas Iyer has almost answered the No. 5 question. I feel Shreyas Iyer is better down the order and I agree with Sanjay bhai, Hanuma Vihari at No. 3 for the short term.” Irfan Pathan said.
“But long term, if I see the next eight years or so, it will depend on the performance as well, Shubman Gill can be a very good option at No. 3 because he has an excellent technique to play against the fast bowlers and plays spin also very well after getting set.” he further elaborated.