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The series defeat against South Africa has raised several questions over India’s team selection. Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh made a different yet interesting observation after India failed to make history and lost another Test series on South African soil.
The 41-year-old pointed out the struggle of opener Mayank Agarwal, who scored a terrific hundred in the Mumbai Test against New Zealand before boarding the flight to South Africa.
Speaking in his latest YouTube video, Harbhajan said, “Mayank Agarwal got six innings but he didn’t make use of the opportunity, which is a sign that some new player might come. Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw can be seen in the next series because six innings are more than enough for a player. Mayank is a good player whom I support but since he hasn’t scored enough so I don’t know what will be the way forward from here.”
While analysing India's 1-2 series defeat, the 2011 World Cup winner spoke about the form of the Indian batters, especially Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Harbhajan said the veteran batters will find it difficult to get into the playing XI after their showing in South Africa, adding that their performances have opened the door for the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav.
“Rahane and Pujara played 50-run knocks in Johannesburg but expectations from seniors are much higher than this. They haven’t scored enough runs and I personally feel the way ahead from here will be difficult for them.”
“Players like Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, who scored a hundred in the previous series are waiting for their opportunity and I feel the way Rahane and Pujara performed they have actually opened the doors for Iyer and Suryakumar,”
The Virat Kohli-led side began the South Africa tour in a terrific fashion, defeating the hosts by 113 runs in Centurion. But the Proteas came back strong and denied India a historic series win.
Kohli admitted that lack of runs cost them the last two games, in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively. The batters, especially the middle-order, stuttered in almost every game of the series.
India's next Test assignment will come during a two-match home Test series against Sri Lanka in February-March 2021.
With the conclusion of the Test series, the focus now shifts towards a three-match ODI series, with the first game starting from January 19 at the Boland Park in Paarl.
