India will take on Sri Lanka in the third and final Test match of the series at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. The visitors are looking to end their 22-year-old drought of not winning a Test series in the Lankan Islands.
Meanwhile, India have not found a solution yet to relating to the no.3 slot in their batting order. The last time it was being handed over to Ajinkya Rahane, he played his part exceptionally well with a brilliant century.
But former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believed that Rahane is not an ideal no.3 batsman. He should be batting at no.4 or no.5 ideally in the longer format of the game.
"Rahane might be similar to Rahul [Dravid] in approach, temperamentally and nature-wise. But their batting style is different. So I think Rahane will not be an ideal No.3 batsman, keeping in mind the long-term plans. I would rather bat him at No.4 or 5," Manjrekar was quoted as saying on ESPN Cricinfo on Wednesday.
India have to deal with other issues as well as their specialist wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha has been injured and he will not be featuring in the third and final Test against Lanka. Manjrekar felt that captain Virat Kohli should not make K L Rahul keep wickets like he did in the final day of the second Test match, instead he should bring in a specialist wicketkeeping batsman.
"I don't think India should let K L Rahul keep wickets in the third Test. It is too risky to try in a Test which goes on for five days. Rahul hasn't kept wickets for a long time. In the second Test he took a good catch and dropped one. So I think India should go in with a regular wicket-keeper. They should go for someone who is used to keeping wickets and has been keeping wickets for a long time," Manjrekar added.
Manjrekar also went on to heap praise on Indian tweaker Ravichandran Ashwin who has been outstanding in the series so far. Ashwin has added 17 scalps to his name at an average of just above 16, which is definitely incredible.
"The way Ashwin is bowling right now will give him wickets in all conditions. I hope an overseas tour comes in very soon so that he can carry his form there. He looks perfectly OK in this style of bowling. At his point of time, he looks like a worldclass off-spinner who can take wickets all over the world," Manjrekar said.
