Nayan Mongia wants Abhimanyu Easwaran and Priyank Panchal as Test openers instead of Rohit Sharma

India is currently atop the ranking table in Test cricket, but there is some patch over which the team is struggling since very long. The team returned to the nation after a successful tour of West Indies with optimum results in every format. Bowlers were up to the mark but it was their opening batsmen that struggled throughout the tour.

The debate over the Test opener has gone longer than it expected and the bad form of KL Rahul, who is finding it difficult to perform well in the format, has given more air to it. After July 2018, in last 10 innings, he has managed to get only one 50-plus score with only 228 runs under his name at an average of 25, which brings his name under the scanner.

Although Rohit Sharma was in the squad after a successful stint in World Cup 2019, very few would have expected that he will not even get a chance to get into the Test team on Caribbean soil, which led to a serious debate in Indian cricket.

Earlier, the 32-year-old had got the support from Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kiran More and Adam Gilchrist for holding the position of the opener in Tests. Now, when the squad was announced for the Test series against South Africa, the name of Rohit was included as a specialist opening batsman.

Test cricket requires a massive adjustment in mindset, says Mongia

But there is one former cricketer who doesn’t look impressed with the decision of the board. Retired wicket-keeper Nayan Mongia thinks that opening is in Test is quite different from doing the same in ODI. He reckons that, batting at the top in the longest format needs better temperament, with the right mindset to be successful.

“Opening is a specialized job, like ‘keeping. He’s been opening in limited-overs cricket, but Test cricket requires a massive adjustment in mindset. Unless, of course, he decides to stick to what he does in limited-overs cricket – go for the ball. He must stick to his strengths, rather than change his game according to Test cricket. If he does that, it may affect his limited-overs game,” Mongia was quoted as saying in an interview with The Times of India (TOI).

According to him, the youngsters like Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran who are performing well with the bat at the same position should be given a fair chance. They have scored around 800-1000 runs in a domestic season at an average between 50 to 60. Mongia believes that it will be unfair and demotivating if they don’t get into the team at the right time.

Nayan Mongia played as successful wicketkeeper for India in 44 Test and 140 ODIs and took more than 200 catches behind the stump including both the formats.

Watch: CricTracker’s World Cup 2019 Cinematic Awards