I would like to see Dhawan and Vijay open for India: Sunil Gavaskar

India’s most successful opener Sunil Gavaskar feels that Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay should open the innings for India in the first against New Zealand in Green Park, Kanpur.

“I would like to see Dhawan and Vijay open for India. Lokesh Rahul and captain Virat Kohli should come in at No.3 and 4,” Gavaskar told NDTV on Wednesday.

Left-hander Shikhar Dhawan, who struggled to get a single fifty during the West Indies Tour, is still facing competition from the young KL Rahul, who had impressed in the Caribbean by scoring a century each in both Tests and T20s. Murali Vijay also is going through a similar lean phase.

Apart from the batting, Gavaskar also spoke about the India’s bowling combination, saying that the Virat Kohli-led side should play with “three spinners and two pacers”.

“The future is bright for this Indian cricket team. Apart from captain Kohli, there are ambitious players who also want to do well. The attitude and approach of this squad is fantastic,” the 67-year-old former Test opener added.

The veteran of 125 Test matches, however, gave a word of caution, saying that the Black Caps should not be taken lightly.

“New Zealand spinners bundled out India in the World Twenty20. They can cause problems in Kanpur too. Their opening bowling attack can be lethal. Indian openers have to be careful,” said Gavaskar.

“New Zealand captain Kane Williamson will be the biggest threat but don’t count out players like Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill. Their batting line-up is quite good too,” said Gavaskar, who was the first to reach 10,000 Test runs.

The opening Test of the three Tests at Kanpur game will be historic one for India as it marks the nation’s 500th appearance in the test format.