India vs New Zealand: Will Indore Test Give Gautam Gambhir A Final Lifeline?
Gautam Gambhir, who had been recalled into the India squad after KL Rahul got injured during the Kanpur Test, is in line to play his first Test after a gap of two years
- Sidharth Gulati
- Updated: October 05, 2016 08:19 PM IST
Highlights
- Gautam Gambhir could open in Indore Test alongside Murali Vijay
- Gambhir replaced injured KL Rahul in India Text squad
- Gambhir last played a Test match in August 2014 in England
Although Karun Nair, the middle-order batsman from Karnataka, has been drafted in as replacement for the injured Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir could return to the Indian Playing XI in the Indore Test against New Zealand from Saturday (October 8).
It's true that Gambhir has been in fine form and deserves to get selected. In the recently concluded Duleep Trophy, the southpaw scored 356 runs in five innings with four half-centuries and also led India Blue to glory.
The left-handed opener also made a mark in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, garnering over 500 runs for Kolkata Knight Riders to finish as the fourth-highest run-getter of the tournament.
Gambhir will be under pressure to deliver in Indore. He last played Test cricket in August 2014 and one mishap in the final Test against the Kiwis could ruin another comeback. With KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Akhil Herwadkar -- all pushing for a spot in India's Test XI, 34-year-old Gambhir will have to live up to his old credentials.
Iyer, touted to be the next big thing, has been piling runs almost at will. In 2014-15 Ranji season, the 21-year-old smashed 809 runs for Mumbai in 10 matches at an average of 50.56.
The very next year, he became the second highest run-getter in a single Ranji season, only behind VVS Laxman. With 1,321 runs, four centuries and 11 fifty-plus scores, Iyer will surely be on selector's radar keeping in mind India's long Test season ahead.
Herwadkar, the 20-year-old opener from Mumbai, has featured in India U-19 teams in the 2012 and 2014 World Cups and has shown enough promise with bat.
In the 2015-16 Ranji season, Herwadkar scored 879 runs in 11 matches with three centuries and four fifty-plus scores and finished as the second highest run-getter of the tournament. He also hit a hundred during India A's recently concluded tour of Australia.
As for Rahul, he's now very much in the thick of things across all formats and once he recovers from his hamstring injury, he will most likely open alongside Murali Vijay for England series.
World No. 1 India already have an unassailable 2-0 lead against New Zealand. More than a 3-0 scoreline, lot of attention will be on individual performances, especially on Gautam Gambhir.