Mohinder Amarnath wants Kohli to pick Shikhar Dhawan for Wanderers Test

While bowlers were up to the mark in the first two Tests of the series, Indian batsmen failed to make an impact in any of the two games and skipper Virat Kohli, who hasn’t fielded the same XI in two consecutive matches out of 34 he has led the side, is under fire for continuous cutting and chopping of the playing XI. Amarnath feels that the left-handed batsman Dhawan should be recalled to the side to open the innings for the Indian side and said Cheteshwar Pujara will perform much better if he is dropped to the lower middle-order.

“Perhaps a slight change in the batting order might work. We all remember the famous India-Australia Test at Kolkata when Laxman came in at No. 3 in the second innings, and look what happened! All it took was one change and India made a dramatic turnaround in the match. It just might work again, who knows?” Mohinder Amarnath wrote in a column in the Times Of India.

“The batsmen are not handling the South Africa fast bowlers with the best of techniques at least where their footwork is concerned. When playing on a faster track, you need to move early, but most of the batsmen are moving the same way they would on a sub-continent track. It works at home but on faster tracks, you have to move early and get into position: you should be on the move when playing against fast bowlers on faster tracks,” he added.

There seems to be huge confusion as far as team selection is concerned and reports have emerged that Ajinkya Rahane and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will return to the side to replace Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. And Amarnath feels it is the most ideal combination for the team going forward. 

“India have a lot of thinking to do where the combination is concerned. There are a lot of ifs and buts, and I feel they should go with just four bowlers to accommodate an extra batsman who will bolster the line-up. The batsmen have to show more aggression; something that has been totally lacking from them apart from Virat Kohli,” he conceded.