Boxing Day Test: By axing openers and going for two rookies, Virat Kohli takes a massive punt

It’s the Boxing Day Test. Arguably the most-anticipated cricket event of every summer in Australia. The city is usually buzzing ahead of the game, with Christmas cheer. On the opening day of the Test, a massive crowd is usually guaranteed. Tens of thousands of people cheering after the national anthems are sung. Ask any Test cricketer not from Australia, and they’d tell you that it is one of the biggest occasions of their career.

Now, imagine making your debut in that setting. Imagine not being in the squad originally and then being flown in mid-way through the tour. And despite all that, imagine not being the central-point of all the pre-match discussion in the all-important Test match of a series that is level 1-1.

Imagine being Mayank Agarwal.

In what will be the biggest moment in his career till date without a doubt, the attention will be on who walks out to open the batting with him — which, going by what chief selector MSK Prasad had to say, will be Hanuma Vihari.

Kohli brings the axe down hard

For starters, the Indian think-tank has decided enough is enough with M Vijay and KL Rahul. The two had scored just 95 runs between them across the opening two Tests in Adelaide and Perth and that’s proven to be too little for either of them to merit another chance.

With Prithvi Shaw’s injury proving to be serious enough to rule him out of the series, India decided to fly Agarwal to Melbourne. In an ideal world, he would have already been in the squad for the tour just on the sheer weight of runs he has scored, but let’s not get into the selectors’ decision to hand a comeback to Vijay.

With both openers getting the axe for the Boxing Day Test, India are likely to field a debutant and a middle-order batsman as openers in Melbourne.

Vihari has an impressive first-class record playing for Andhra and Hyderabad. In the 67 matches he has played, he averages close to 60. But a bulk of those runs were made at No 3 or No 4. In his entire first-class career that spans 102 innings, Vihari has opened the batting just three times.

Vihari’s record opening the batting: 

For Hyderabad vs Rajasthan, December 2012: 13* (Played at No 3 in the first innings)

For Hyderabad vs Kerala, December 2013: 145 (Played at No 3 in the first innings) 

For India Blue vs India Red, September 2017: 105 

Prasad has made it clear this is not a long-term solution to open with Vihari. But with three regular openers in a squad of 18 that also includes Parthiv Patel, the team’s think-tank is choosing to experiment with a guy who is just finding his feet in international cricket.

The logic here seems to be that Vihari has the defensive technique needed to negotiate the new ball, and that Rohit is better suited to the middle order. But has Rohit really done enough to warrant another chance in this Test in the first place? And why does a guy who has done what’s been asked of him adapt to a completely new role in place of a guy who must have the record for receiving the longest rope in the longest format?

Unfair on Vihari?

For the record, Vihari might well go on to have a great game as an opener (if Kohli doesn’t pull off another last-minute surprise, that is). In the short term, Kohli might well be vindicated. Flimsy as it may sound, Prasad indicated that even if Vihari doesn’t deliver as an opener he will get his chances in the middle order.

We have seen this happen with India before. VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, both accomplished in the middle order and at No 3, have been asked to open in the past. The 1999-2000 series saw India start the series with Devang Gandhi and Sadagopan Ramesh in the first Test. Then, Laxman replaced Gandhi for the second Test before, incidentally, Prasad himself was sent to open in the third Test in Sydney where the former scored a majestic 167 — his first Test century — in a losing cause.

It took him a while to establish himself as a regular and when he did, Laxman put his foot down over the experimentation of letting him open the batting. He later spoke about the challenges of a middle-order batsman having to open in Tests.

“You need to have a different temperament. The wicket is fresh, so are the bowlers with the new cherry. The emphasis is on staying at the wicket, to be cautious because it is imperative that you get a good start. It calls for a completely different mindset. In the middle order, you can play your natural game right from the start. You can stay cool and get started right away.”

Of course, given the choice between not being in the playing XI or doing an uncomfortable job as an opener, a young cricketer will obviously prefer the former.

The situation is so out of the ordinary that Agarwal, playing for India for the first time, will walk out as the “more experienced” opener. The weight of expectations will be on him, but at the back of the mind, one cannot help but wonder how this selection gamble with the second opener plays for India.

This much is clear: irrespective of how this latest experiment pans out, Kohli has taken another massive selection punt. And that’s an area he has not had the best of records. It remains to be seen if the final Test of 2018 is any different.