Debate on the vacant opening slot: Prithvi Shaw or Mayank Agarwal
India is set to play two Test matches against West Indies, starting from October 4. The first of the two test matches will be played in Rajkot. After the announcement of India's squad to battle against the Windies, a debate had started about the exclusion of Karun Nair and Rohit Sharma. However, today we will talk about the two talented batsmen who have sealed their spot in the squad with their performances, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw. Both of them have impressed the selectors with their remarkable performances in domestic cricket. However, with KL Rahul saving his spot in the team with an outstanding century in a dead-rubber match, only one out of the two can be named as the opener alongside KL Rahul in India's test set-up.
It's confirmed that the team management will have a headache, a good headache, of choosing among Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw. But who'll get their maiden test match opportunity earlier?
Mayank Agarwal
Mayank Agarwal, a late bloomer, has literally toiled in domestic cricket to carve his name in the list of Indian players who made it to the test squad for the two-match test series against the Windies. Mayank has been phenomenal in all the formats of domestic cricket. Despite his great performances, his knock to the selectors' door was unheard, until he decided to break the door instead of knocking it so that he would not be ignored.
Mayank Agarwal had been playing his part in domestic cricket and keeps a high price of his wicket, every time he comes to bat. In other words, his maturity of not throwing his wicket is admirable. Mayank has a better experience than Shaw and looks more mature as well. So, there's nothing wrong he has done to not get a test call-up.
Prithvi Shaw
Prithvi Shaw is surely a reserve for the future. He's just 18 and seems destined for success and greatness. He's a class act with immaculate stroke-play. Shaw is in a golden run right from his century in his Ranji debut. Moreover, he also got a hundred in his Duleep Trophy debut, led the Indian U-19 team to a World Cup victory and performed exceedingly well for India A.
Shaw's success at a very young age has earned him the rights to be compared with the young Sachin Tendulkar, which itself is an achievement. Many have earmarked him to take over the baton from Virat Kohli when it comes to being the lynchpin and the heartbeat of Indian batting.
As of now, it looks sensible to try Mayank Agarwal for the opening slot as he is older than Shaw, meaning that it will be difficult for him to get opportunities in the future. On the other hand, Shaw still has a lot of time to improve and work on his tiny flaws.
The debate is never-ending; finding the conclusion of the debate is as hard as anything else. In my perspective, both of them should get a match each in the two-match test series as both are equally deserving. If either of the two fails in the first match, bringing the other sounds diplomatic, as both of them would get an opportunity each. However, it's not sensible to drop a young player because of his one-match failure.
So at the end of the debate, I find myself lucky not to have the decision-making authority. The decision is up to the team management. I am unable to find the conclusion of this debate; so I leave the duty of concluding the debate to our ardent readers.