India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour has responded to the question everyone is looking an answer for after Shreyas Iyer’s record-breaking debut — who will Virat Kohli replace in second Test? However, Rathour tried to dodge the question as there is still a day to go in the ongoing Kanpur Test where India need nine wickets to take a lead in the two-Test series.
"Of course, you want the top-order to contribute but cricketers (Pujara and Rahane) you mentioned they have played 80 (79 for Rahane) and 90 Tests (91 Test for Pujara),” Rathour told the reporters after the day’s play.
"Of course, to play that many games, they must have done well for us. We understand that both of them are going through a lean phase but we understand that they have both played very, very important knocks for us in the past. We are pretty sure that they are going to come back and play important knocks for us," the batting coach added.
While Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have a batting average of 19.57 and 30.42 so far this year, Rathour emphasised that their impact cannot be put in numbers.
"I don't think you can put a number to that. It really depends on situation the team is in and what the team is required to do," the former Punjab opener said while taking the diplomatic approach.
With Iyer scoring 105 and 65, there is bound to be an outrage if he does not take the field in front of his home crowd on December 3. With Kohli returning as skipper it will be interesting to see which way the selectors go in Mumbai.
Captain coming back in, that will happen in next game and we will get to that point when we reach Mumbai. The focus is on this game and there is a day to go and a game to be won. We will get to that point when we get in Mumbai," the 52-year-old dodged the question again.
"Once we land in Mumbai, we will take that call, what our playing XI is going to be," he said while not confirming whether Iyer retains his spot or not at Wankhede stadium after becoming the only Indian to score a century followed by a half-century on Test debut.