'Wriddhiman Saha can open' - Wasim Jaffer comes up with an 'out-of-the-box' suggestion for India for 2nd Test versus NZ

Wriddhiman Saha stepped up for the Indian side in the 2nd innings of the 1st Test against New Zealand and scored a handy 61* off 126 deliveries and helped his side set a target of 284 for the New Zealand side.

And, regular Indian skipper Virat Kohli will return back to the playing XI for the 2nd Test, and that might mean that one out of Mayank Agarwal or Ajinkya Rahane will have to make way. Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer feels that the call on whom to drop will rest with skipper Virat Kohli.

Adding that Rahane has not scored runs in his last 10 Test matches, Jaffer said that the veteran batsman might have to sit out of the 2nd Test. Jaffer even labelled the decision to drop Rahane as a ‘tough call’.

“It’s a toss-up between Mayank Agarwal and Ajinkya Rahane. I would think on those two. That’s the toss-up that Virat Kohli has to make. Whether he wants to go with Mayank Agarwal and give him another go or whether [he thinks] Ajinkya Rahane hasn’t got enough runs in the last 10-12 Test matches after that Melbourne Test so he goes out. It’s a tough call, definitely a tough call. It depends on whom the sword falls on,” said Wasim Jaffer in a chat with ESPNCricinfo.

Wasim Jaffer suggests an interesting tweak in the Indian batting lineup

Wasim Jaffer also added that if at all Mayank Agarwal is dropped, India can open the batting with Saha. The 43-year-old also said that if Saha opens the batting, everybody else can retain their respective positions in the line-up. Jaffer concluded by stating that this rejig is a short-term one only for the 2nd Test.

“I think I will open with Saha if at all Mayank Agarwal goes out because then everybody bats out of their position. Pujara will open and then Ajinkya Rahane will bat at some other position… If Saha opens then everyone bats at the same position.

And you can do that in Indian conditions with Saha. Is it a long-term call? Definitely not because India will go to South Africa. So, they’ll have to reconsider their top-six for Mumbai,” concluded Wasim Jaffer.