India vs South Africa 2019: Will the Rohit-Agarwal pair end India's opening conundrum in Tests?

Rohit Sharma has been included in India's Test squad for the upcoming home series against South Africa. And India have decided to take a risk by designating him as an opener and pairing him with Mayank Agarwal, in the hope of ending India's long-lasting opening conundrum in Tests.

A decade ago, India had one of the best Test opening pairs in the world in the form of Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. The left-right combination was often able to give India a strong start, laying the foundation for a competitive total.

But the disastrous tours of England and Australia in 2011-2012 exposed the loopholes which had started to develop in India's opening pair. Sehwag and Gambhir were ultimately shown the door and that opened up the void at the top in India's Test lineup.

Virender Sehwag

Since 2013, as many as nine players have opened for India in Tests in a number of combinations. Regular openers like Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Abhinav Mukund etc. were tried and tested. Even Gambhir was recalled for a brief period. But no combination produced results convincing enough to earn a long run.

The issue hit India so badly that in spite of having regular openers in the squad, they had to open with a makeshift opener in the form of Hanuma Vihari in the 3rd Test Against Australia last year.

With Prithvi Shaw serving a ban till November due to his dope test failure, India have now decided to open with Rohit and Agarwal in the upcoming Test series against South Africa.

Over the years, Rohit has established himself as one of the top class openers in the limited overs format, and the opportunity of opening in Tests has come at a time when he is at the peak of his career.

Agarwal made a sensational debut against Australia in the third Test last year; he announced his arrival in the international arena by scoring two fifties in his maiden Test series. His free-flowing strokes and ability to attack at will have seemingly convinced the selectors of his long-term potential.

Mayank Agarwal

As a pair, Rohit and Agarwal bring a lot to the table. They both have the ability to watch the ball first and play according to the conditions. And once settled, they can attack the opposition bowlers on demand and make them toil hard to find a way of getting past them. Explosiveness along with patience can make this pair the one that India are looking for.

Both Rohit and Agarwal have opened for India, although in different formats. This will be the first time the duo will walk together to the middle to face the red cherry.

Rohit has already proved himself in the ODI and T20 format, while Agarwal has done enough in his four-Test-old career to assure the selectors that the more exposure he gets, the better his game will be.

If given enough opportunities, this pair can definitely develop a good understanding between themselves and produce results.

It remains to be seen how Rohit and Agarwal fare in their first assignment together, and all eyes will be on them as India try one more combination at the top. If successful, the Test series against the Proteas will produce the solution to one of India's longest-running problems.

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