IND vs SA | Mayank Agarwal didn’t make use of the opportunity, opines Harbhajan Singh

01/17/2022

Harbhajan Singh is of the opinion that Mayank Agarwal didn’t make use of the opportunity he got in the South Africa series. Harbhajan further added that Shubhman Gill and Prithvi Shaw might replace Agarwal in the next series after he wasn't consistent in the recent Test series in South Africa.

India recently suffered a defeat in the three match Test series against South Africa by a scoreline of 2-1. The visitors were eyeing a maiden Test series win in the Rainbow Nation but the seven-wicket loss in Cape Town shattered their dream. The batting unit disappointed the team the most as they were unable to put competitive totals on the scoreboard in the second innings of the Johannesburg and Cape Town Tests.

India’s opener Mayank Agarwal scored 135 runs in 6 innings with just an average of 22.50 including one half-century. Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes that Agarwal didn’t capitalize on the chances he got in the series. Harbhajan also added that Shubhman Gill and Prithvi Shaw might replace Agarwal for the next series against Sri Lanka.

“Mayank Agarwal got six innings but he didn't make use of the opportunity, which is a sign that some new player might come. Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw can be seen in the next series because six innings is more than enough for a player. Mayank is a good player whom I support but since he hasn't scored enough so I don't know what will be the way forward from here,” said Harbhajan on his YouTube channel.

The form of two senior batsmen, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara has been a sign of worry for the team for a while now. Both of them have been going through a rough patch and players like Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer are waiting for the opportunity. Harbhajan opined that it might be difficult for Rahane and Pujara to retain their place in the team.

"Rahane and Pujara played 50-run knocks in Johannesburg but expectations from seniors are much higher than this. They haven't scored enough runs and I personally feel the way ahead from here will be difficult for them,” he explained.

"Players like Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, who scored a hundred in the previous series are waiting for their opportunity and I feel the way Rahane and Pujara performed they have actually opened the doors for Iyer and Suryakumar.”

India were favourites going into the series against South Africa and even won the series opener in Centurion. However, the opposition bounced back and won the remaining two fixtures. Harbhajan praised South Africa for their performance considering the lack of big names in their batting unit.

"They didn't have any big names in their batting line-up but still managed to beat a team like India and it is highly commendable,” he concluded.