Not fair on Mayank Agarwal to be dropped from Test side, says Zaheer Khan

The Indian selectors recently made a series of big announcements, the most important one being the Test squad for the upcoming Australia tour. The MSK Prasad-led selection committee decided to bring back axed opener Murali Vijay as well as wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel. Meanwhile, the prolific limited overs opener Rohit Sharma made it back to the longest format after almost 11 months.

However, there was a sense of disappointment to not find young Mayank Agarwal in the squad that would travel to Australia later this year. Despite scoring heavily in the domestic circuit, which has typically been the most important pathway for national selection, Agarwal is yet to receive his maiden Test cap. He was brought into the side for the 2-match Test series against the Windies, but India decided against playing him. They gave Prithvi Shaw an opportunity to open the innings as Murali Vijay was dropped, and he did not disappoint.

While Shaw seems to have cemented his place at the opening slot, India have decided to bring Murali Vijay back into the side based on the fact that he’s got experience under his belt and that he’s scored heavily Down Under. Meanwhile, KL Rahul’s struggle with the bat continues, and captain Virat Kohli will perhaps opt to play Vijay instead, alongside Shaw.

But this entire development doesn’t feature Mayank Agarwal at all. After serving drinks during the two Windies Tests, he has to fly to New Zealand to play for India A.

This is something really hard to deal with for him

This decision had raised several eyebrows as people thought it wasn’t fair at all on Mayank for having been dropped from the side without him playing a single innings. Speaking to Cricbuzz, former India pacer Zaheer Khan sympathized with the 27-year old, saying, “It’s not really fair for someone like Mayank Agarwal who’s been part of the team. As a player if you’re part of the team, you get picked in the playing XI, you have a bad day, it doesn’t matter.

“That’s something as a player you can live with. But if you’ve been part of the squad and not really got an opportunity to play or showcase your talent, that’s something which is really hard to deal with. Like today, Mayank Agarwal was sitting there and thinking that ‘What did I do wrong? Did I not serve the drinks properly?’ He must have done everything possible.”

However, he also backed the selectors for bringing Vijay back into the side. “The fact that he’s (Mayank) not there right now will be hurting him, but nonetheless I think Vijay is a very correct kind of opening which is a rarity – he’s like one of those classic openers which will be useful in Australia because you need to anchor one side as well,” he concluded. India take on Australia in the first of four Tests on December 6 at the Adelaide Oval.

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