KL Rahul should open in the first Test: Sunil Gavaskar

Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar wants star batsman Cheteshwar Pujara to believe in his abilities and carry on playing the way he plays in the longest format of the gameIndia and England will lock horns in a fivematch Test series beginning Wednesday at Trent Bridge Nottingham The series will mark the start of the second cycle of the World Test ChampionshipIn the inaugural WTC final Pujara failed to leave a mark as he registered scores of 8 and 15 in the two innings respectively Gavaskar said Pujaras method has worked for him and he should trust his abilities in the games aheadI think he has got to trust his pattern and if the team doesnt trust that method they have to look at maybe bringing somebody else in But his method has worked for him and India He has held the fort at one end while the batsman at the other end has played his shots knowing that there was a solid player at one end So I think hes got to believe in himself and carry on playing as he knows well because he has done a fantastic job for India over the years said Gavaskar while replying to a query from ANIThe Board of Control for Cricket in India BCCI on Monday informed that opening batsman Mayank Agarwal has been ruled of the first Test against England BCCI also said the 30yearold batsman is stable and will remain under close medical observationLast month KL Rahul scored a century for the Indians in the threeday warmup game against County Select XI The batting lineup failed but Rahul along with Ravindra Jadeja was the shining light in the first inningsKL Rahul scoring a hundred in the warmup game I think he should be the person who should open for India in the first Test Also on the back of a hundred Rahul has the confidence hes the one who should open the batting Gavaskar opinedThe England and Wales Cricket Board ECB on Friday confirmed that England mens allrounder Stokes will take an indefinite break from all cricket with immediate effect The legendary batsman admitted that the absence of star players has weakened the English sideBen Stokes has been a gamechanger with both bat and ball and him not playing is a huge advantage for India Also the absence of Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes has weakened the England side said GavaskarECB said Stokes has withdrawn from Englands Test squad for the series against India to prioritise his mental wellbeing and to rest his left index finger which has not fully healed since his return to competitive cricket earlier this monthIts definitely tough to play in the current situation no doubt about it What would help centrally others who are possibly going through similar circumstances is we get to know the actual reason So if Stokes would come out and say look this is the reason why he took the break it will certainly help a lot of other younger players who might be undergoing a similar kind of situation Gavaskar addedIndias tour of England will be live on SONY SIX SONY TEN 3 channels from 330 pm IST on August 4Also Read Olympics India miss out on gold in mens hockey lose 25 to Belgium in semisThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever