Sanjay Manjrekar backs two Indian players to shine in England

Team India wrapped up the Test match against Afghanistan inside two days and proved that they are the number 1 side in the world in Tests. They will now embark on the tour of the United Kingdom which will commence with the two-match T20I series against Ireland. Virat Kohli and his men will then face England in three T20Is followed by the same number of ODIs. However, the real test would be the five-match Test series where Sanjay Manjrekar feels that the two players in the Indian line-up will definitely shine.

Manjrekar, recently, was of the opinion of not having Hardik Pandya in the Test team in England if he is not contributing with the bat. He also felt that the other Indian batsmen also have to play well and Team India should not be over-reliant on Virat Kohli which was the case in South Africa.

Who are the players?

In an interview to Sportstar, Sanjay Manjrekar believed that Murali Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane will play extremely well in England based on their past record in the country. The cricketer turned commentator also went on to say that the duo is not the same today and have improved a lot over the years.

“If you look at the previous overseas campaigns, the Indian batting looked good because Murali Vijay was in top form. Ajinkya Rahane was very consistent. These were the batsmen who delivered for India consistently on all the overseas tours. Rahane and Vijay are not the same players today. So, it is important that they get back to prime form,” he said.

Moreover, the 52-year-old backed Rahane to make it to the playing XI despite being in poor form. He also didn’t muster runs against Afghanistan in Bengaluru and was scalped by Rashid Khan.

“He (Rahane) should. He has to despite his current form. We have to look at players who have delivered in overseas conditions in the past, more understandingly. That’s where (K.L) Rahul has to be part of India’s plans and Rahane too. I can understand if players who have failed overseas are not given the long rope, but Rahane, Vijay, Rahul — who got a hundred in Australia — are the guys you should back,” he added.

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