India thrashed West Indies in the first test by bowling them out in just 8 session to win the match by an innings and 272 runs. KL Rahul failed to make the most of the batting friendly conditions at Saurashtra cricket association stadium in Rajkot but his partner Prithvi Shaw notched up a hundred at debut to set the Indian innings rolling. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja were all amongst the runs and received a great dress rehearsal for the all important Australia series.
After a dominant display by the Indian team, former India spinner Murali Karthik wants Mayank Agarwal to feature in the second test match for India. The Karnataka batsman was awarded with the maiden call-up after his impressive performances in domestic cricket.
Karthik said that Agarwal should be tested before the tour of Australia. He opined that Virat Kohli should be rested for the second test considering a mis-matched Windies side.
Interestingly, KL Rahul got the first limelight in Australia test series of 2014 where he received his maiden test call-up. He went onto score his maiden test century in SCG test, opening the innings for India.
Virat should be rested for second test- Murali Karthik
“That [playing Agarwal] was something that I was thinking about. You should look at what you’re trying to get from this series. You’re looking for players for Australia. Did Virat Kohli have to play? You can possibly win this Test series without Virat Kohli. The way he was rested for Asia Cup,” said Karthik.
The failure of KL Rahul at top of the innings may open door for his state-man Mayank Agarwal in the team.
