Australia vs India: 3 Players who should've been preferred ahead of Rohit Sharma in the Test squad

In an interview just a few months ago, Virat Kohli reminisced his U19 days and also spoke about the times when they used to talk very highly of a certain “Rohit Sharma”. Rohit made his debut in his late teenage days and although it took a lot of time to get settled, he earned a reputation as one of the finest limited overs cricketers of all time.

Keeping aside all his batting prowess against the white ball, which is unquestionably outstanding, Rohit has failed miserably (by his standards) in Tests. The 31-year-old scored two centuries in his first two innings in the longest format, but his career never kick-started and has always been hanging with uncertainty.

After a horrendous performance in South Africa, he was dropped for the England tour and was expected to remain out of the picture for Australia Tests as well. But his limited overs’ form has been so sensational that the selectors couldn’t overlook him for this all-important Test series. Whilst this decision sparked some controversies, a few experts have backed him to do well Down Under. Rohit’s happiness unfortunately came at the peril of some other aspiring youngsters.

Here are three names who should’ve been considered ahead of the Hitman for this Test series:

1. Mayank Agarwal

This is one name that has been long overdue a national cap, but Mayank Agarwal repeatedly receives the cold shoulder from selectors. Despite all his heroics for Karnataka and India A, it is indeed very puzzling that Mayank received just one call-up from the national side (against the Windies) and failed to get a game.

Another major blow for the 27-year-old were his performances in IPL which dented his chances big time. Playing in front of big crowds is one great aspect of the cash-rich league which youngsters don’t get exposed to in other tournaments. Mayank struggled to cope with that pressure and that might’ve influenced the selectors’ opinion as well.

But one thing which we cannot belittle is his thirst for runs in domestic circuit. He averages over 50 playing for Karnataka and India A and his form in the last three seasons has been particularly stellar. It was very harsh on the selectors’ part to lift his spirit by selecting him once and not showing confidence in him just a month later.