It will be a difficult call, but India needs to drop Mayank Agarwal for Virat Kohli in Mumbai: VVS Laxman

Former India batter VVS Laxman has urged the Indian team management to not ignore Shreyas Iyer for the Mumbai Test against New Zealand, starting from December 3.

The management has a selection puzzle to solve before the final encounter of the series, as regular skipper Virat Kohli comes back into the fold after being rested for the first Test in Kanpur, which means at least one of the players who played the first Test need to sit out.

Laxman opines that no matter what, the one making way for Kohli should not be Iyer, who notched up a century and half-century in the Kanpur Test to mark a scintillating debut. Even though Iyer was not in the scheme of things initially, he ensured to grab the opportunity and make a solid case for himself at India’s No. 5 position.

“Shreyas Iyer batted in both the innings and to get a hundred in his first Test series and then to follow it up with a fantastic half-century. Both these innings, mind you, have come when the team was under pressure, so it was a fantastic performance from Shreyas Iyer,” said Laxman on the Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’.

I hope the management take the right decision: VVS Laxman

When asked who would he drop to accommodate Kohli, Laxman went ahead with opener Mayank Agarwal, who had a forgettable outing in the first Test after making his comeback into the team.

“It will be difficult, but I believe that Mayank Agarwal in both the innings gave an underwhelming performance and was uncomfortable at the crease. Cheteshwar Pujara has the ability to open, he has opened the innings previously.

While both middle-order mainstays Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been under pressure and away from runs, Laxman weighed against dropping them.

“The number 3 position can be filled by Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli can come at number 4 and Shreyas can come in at number 5 because how can you ignore his performance. So, I think it’s a tough call that Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli have to take. I hope that they take the right decision and don’t ignore the performance of Shreyas Iyer,” added the former player.