Australia vs India: Murali Kartik agitated after Mayank Agarwal’s omission from the SCG Test

Murali Kartik, the former Indian cricketer, wasn’t a happy man after Mayank Agarwal was left out of India’s playing eleven for the ongoing Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Agarwal scored only 31 runs in the first two matches in Adelaide and Melbourne at an average of 7.75.

Moreover, he managed to cross the double-digit mark only once out of four attempts. In his place, India preferred Rohit Sharma, who made a comeback after the hamstring injury that he suffered during the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League.

Kartik, who’s in the commentary panel for the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy, feels that Agarwal should not have been dropped after only two failures. Shubman Gill, who made his Test debut at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, managed to hold on to his spot in the playing eleven.

“I know people are raving about Shubman Gill and he is a fine talent, but someone who averages 55 in Test cricket cannot be shown the door based on failure in a couple of Tests,” Kartik was quoted as saying during commentary.

Mayank Agarwal’s decent Test career

Back in the 2018-19 series, Agarwal made his Test debut at the MCG and impressed one and all. Prior to the ongoing Tests, the Karnataka-born had a staggering average of 57.29 from 11 Tests with three centuries and four half-centuries. He also has a top score of 243 in the longest format.

During the Day-Night Adelaide Test, the 29-year-old Mayank became the third-fastest Indian to accomplish 1,000 Test runs. Agarwal was also in brilliant form in the 2020 IPL while playing for Kings XI Punjab, captained by KL Rahul, who isn’t a part of the Test squad anymore.

At the first-class level, Mayank has over 5,000 runs with 11 tons and 27 fifties and a top-score of an unbeaten 304. For the ongoing Test, Gill and Rohit are set to open. Though he has done well in the limited-overs formats, it will be interesting to see how Rohit does in Tests.

He last played Test cricket in the 2019 series against Bangladesh and his last overseas Test was more than two years ago. The four-match Tests are currently locked at 1-1 with the SCG Test taking place presently.