Tiwary Advocates for Domestic Run-Machine in India Setup, Questions Rahul's Place

Former Indian cricketer Manoj Tiwary has called for the inclusion of a prolific domestic run-scorer in the national team setup. In the wake of India's disastrous collapse to 46 all out in the first Test against New Zealand, Tiwary has questioned the place of KL Rahul in the side.

Tiwary has pointed to the success of Sarfaraz Khan for India, who was promoted up the order and flourished at No. 4. He believes that Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has slammed four centuries in his last four first-class games, should be given a chance in the India playing XI.

Tiwary highlighted Rahul's poor average in Test cricket, which stands at 33.98 after 91 innings. He argued that India has a pool of talented batters who are performing consistently in domestic cricket and deserve an opportunity.

"You need performances on a consistent basis, which should be checked in a 1:3 ratio," said Tiwary. "If you look at his (Easwaran's) numbers, there were hardly any innings in the last few matches he played where he did not score a century. So bring him in, and try him as a middle-order batter, given that he is in form. Why not?"

Easwaran, who Tiwary has captained for Bengal, recently scored a stunning 191 for Rest of India against Mumbai in the Irani Cup 2024. He has also been a part of the India setup as a standby player.

Tiwary believes that Easwaran's form and versatility make him a suitable candidate for the middle order. He suggested that the selectors should experiment with different combinations to find the best possible lineup.

"India has a lot of options, and they should try different players in different positions," said Tiwary. "If you are not getting the results, you need to change something. You can't keep doing the same thing and expect different results."

Tags: #ManojTiwary, #KLRahul, #AbhimanyuEaswaran, #SarfarazKhan, #IndiaCricket