"India can try Hanuma Vihari at No. 3"- Deep Dasgupta
Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta feels India can try Hanuma Vihari at No. 3 as a replacement for Cheteshwar Pujara. Vihari has the compact technique required for a No. 3 batter and can also score runs at a brisk pace.
Vihari's last innings for India was a heroic 161-ball 23 which helped India draw the Test match against Australia in Sydney.
Coming back from a hamstring injury, Vihari could be an able replacement for the out-of-form Pujara, who could reportedly be dropped for the England Test series.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Deep Dasgupta explained what other options India had to replace Pujara at No. 3.
"India can try Hanuma Vihari at No. 3. In the long term you can try him, you can also try Shubman (Gill). You can also think of KL (Rahul) but I would see him at No. 5. There are many openers and you can adjust to No. 3 if you can adjust to the mindset. Hanuma is a good option."
Deep Dasgupta explains why Yuzvendra Chahal hasn't played Test cricket
Deep Dasgupta also gave his opinion as to why leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal doesn't find himself in the reckoning for the Indian Test team.
Dasgupta said Chahal's inconsistent performances in first-class cricket are the main reason for his exclusion from the Test side, although wrist spinners are genuine wicket-takers.
"The problem is that whether Chahal wants to play Test cricket. If you see his Ranji Trophy numbers they aren't that great and he also doesn't play a lot. For India A, he was picked two years ago, but even there in New Zealand his performance wasn't that great."
Deep Dasgupta also gave an explanation as to why most wrist-spinners are highly successful with the white ball but not so much when it comes to the longest format of the game.
"In white-ball cricket, your defensive skill set takes you through. But in red-ball cricket your attacking skillset becomes more important. Thats why a lot of wrist spinners are successful in white-ball cricket than red-ball cricket."