England vs India 2018, 5th Test: Selecting Hanuma Vihari over Karun Nair raises concerns

Not everyone would know that Karun Nair was part of the Indian squad for the England Test series. The most recent announcement would surely have brought everyone’s eyes to this. Hanuma Vihari and Prithvi Shaw were flown from India to be a part of the squad for the 4th and 5th Test against England.

It was very clear that Vihari was brought in to replace Hardik Pandya. The team management tried to change one all-rounder for the other. Vihari though, is a batsman who can bowl a bit of off-spin and Pandya on the other hand, is a bowler who can bat.

Hardik Pandya has made way for the debutant Hanuma Vihari

Vihari has earned his place in the Indian team. He has been in a purple patch in the 2018 domestic season. In the 6 Ranji Trophy matches that he has played this season, he has scored a mammoth 752 runs at an average of 94. Thus, there is no doubt that he has been picked on pure form. But the question is when there was Karun Nair already in the squad, shouldn’t he be given the first opportunity instead of bringing in a new player altogether.

Karun Nair is only the second Indian batsman to have a 300 against his name, but ever since that knock, he has not been able to convert his starts. Maybe his defensive technique was lacking a bit. It’s also quite possible that the team think-tank wanted an all-rounder to replace Pandya, else the workload on the front-line fast bowlers would be too much.

Vihari, then would be the ideal replacement. He bowls a bit of part-time off-spin, but whether you can classify him as an all-rounder based on this is questionable. But what is puzzling is, why then in the first place would Nair be picked ahead of Vihari.

The unfortunate part is that Karun Nair will lose a lot of confidence and self-belief after this. It is important that he doesn’t focus on this and instead goes back to domestic cricket and piles on the runs. India still haven’t found a proper No.6. They have tried a lot of all-rounders, but no one has been able to cement his position in the team.

If they start running out of all-rounders, then Karun Nair, provided he is in good form would again be looked at. Next up, India face West Indies at home post which they fly Down Under.

On the other hand, it is a great opportunity for Vihari. After being snubbed in the IPL, he has got his chance to represent India. There would be a lot of pressure though on the debutant. He would be expected to score runs, especially considering the nature of the wicket at the Oval. The team management will have to give him a good enough run for him to make his mark.

In all this, India will also have to manage the workload of its pacers. Not having Pandya, will restrict Kohli’s options in terms of pace bowling and thus the bowling combination would also have to be scrutinized. And this is where it is vital that Vihari scores runs and fixes his place in the team and gives the selection committee, a headache in terms of choosing the appropriate bowling combination.

The selection seems to have been a positive one thus far in terms of batting at least with Vihari on 25 not out at the end of the 2nd day's play. He did bowl only one over though, throughout England's entire first innings.