Former Cricketer Aakash Chopra has cast his vote for Prithvi Shaw as India’s second opener alongside Mayank Agarwal for the first Test of the border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Aakash Chopra started by highlighting Prithvi Shaw’s achievements including being one of the few Indian players to have scored a debut Test century.

Aakash Chopra highlighted Prithvi Shaw has the ability to give the team a flying start to put a spanner in the opposition’s plans.

“Prithvi Shaw is the same player who has scored a century on debut. How many people are able to do that, very few. But he has done that. Virender Sehwag, Rohit Sharma and Sourav Ganguly are few of the others who have done that.”

Read More | Ajinkya Rahane will go at No.4 once Virat Kohli goes away: Sunil Gavaskar

“He did it against West Indies. Yes, it was an encounter at home but he scored an explosive century. He scored runs in the second match as well. After that he got injured and was stuck in a doping case as well and was out for quite some time.”

“Then he went to New Zealand and we felt that the tour may not be good because of the conditions and his unique style of play. But there also he showed in the 2nd Test match that even though the pitch might be green in Christchurch, his playing style might look risky but he has the ability to score runs.”

“There is a gap between the bat and the pad when he plays his shots and has had some problems against the short ball as well. But in the last Test match India played outside the country, Prithvi Shaw actually opened and did alright.”

Read More | I think Shaun Marsh’s time is done, you’ve got to move on: Brad Haddin

“Even in Australia, the first warm-up match was not good but in the 1st innings of the second encounter, he was hitting boundaries of good balls. He is the type of player that if he plays 20 overs, he will score 60-70 runs on his own.”

“He will not only make the new ball old but make runs at such a fast pace that you will get the time to bat at ease later. He is that kind of a player who will rattle the opposition. He can play the role of a disruptive player.”

“He did well in the last first-class season as well. He has problems but who does not have them.”

Source: click here