Now that Rohit Sharma has been made the vice-captain for the remainder of the series, the question whether he will play or not has been answered, unless we now have non playing captains in cricket too.
But hold on, the pieces of the puzzle don’t fit together, not just yet. The captain and the coach must be in a real quandary over his batting position (or may be not). Do we go by what the vice-captain prefers, which of course should be and will be in the interest of the team. Do we change the combination that crafted the historic win and got us back in the series?
But the biggest of all, will Mayank face the same fate as Shaw? Someone who showed a lot promise on debut (on Australian soil) and until this series, will he have to face the axe? If Mayank retains his place, which in my opinion he should, will Vihari have to make way for the vice-captain?
Let’s talk numbers first!
Mayank, coming into the series, averaged 30 in 11 away innings. His best scores against Australia were 76 and 77 at the MCG and SCG respectively (2018-19). Rohit Sharma averages 26 in the 33 outings he has had away from home; averages 31 in the 10 innings he has played against Australia, highest being 63 at the MCG. He had decent outings at the SCG back in 2015 – scores of 53 and 39. Mayank too has fond memories of the SCG. KL Rahul also got a hundred in this (2015) match. So, it is a happy hunting ground for all of them.
Both Rohit and Mayank amassed centuries in the home series against SA and Bangladesh in 2019. However, given the experience the former has and the fact that his career has grown leaps and bounds in the shorter version, might give him the edge, but then this is test cricket.
Had Rohit been fit and flown with the team would he have been in the playing XI in Adelaide?
Rahane in the post-match conference talked about the 4-5 years of domestic cricket experience that both the debutants had and how important it was, and it is at the highest level, in the toughest format and in alien conditions.
And if Mayank is dropped as well, what about all the talks of backing our players and trusting them. What happened to giving them the confidence and the freedom to go out, and enjoy? It will be interesting to see the playing XI for the third test.
