Hanuma Vihari or Shreyas Iyer – Who will India pick for the 1st Test?

The Indian side will be faced with the ‘problem of plenty’ when they pick the playing XI for the first Test match against South Africa. There are a lot of contenders for the No.5 slot, and the important question that India will have to address is, whom should the Indian side pick between Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari in the playing XI?

To be fair, both men have not done anything wrong with the willow in the recent past. Shreyas Iyer experienced a fairytale start to his Test career and smashed a Test century on debut against New Zealand in Kanpur. He then followed that up with a half-century as well in the next innings.

KL Rahul (in Press) said “Shreyas Iyer has taken his opportunity- Hanuma Vihari has done well for us, Rahane did well in Melbourne and Lord’s recently- it’s a difficult decision to choose the number 5, we will have chat today or tomorrow”. @klrahul11 #SAvIND #TeamIndia #KLRahul pic.twitter.com/8NXJNHGIyb

— Saurabh Tripathi (@SaurabhTripathS) December 24, 2021

Vihari presents a strong bid

On the other hand, Hanuma Vihari was sent to South Africa with the India A squad, and he has also been in good nick. Vihari played five innings against the South Africa A side and aggregated a total of 227 runs at an average of 75.67.

Also, the last time Vihari featured in the whites for India was in Sydney against Australia in January 2021, where he heroically played out 161 balls to help India draw the Test. Since then, the right-hander has not featured in the whites for India. So, whom to pick, and whom to drop?

Now, there is also a possibility that both players might play as well. Senior batter Ajinkya Rahane has experienced a poor run in Tests played in 2021, and the right-hander was also removed as the vice-captain of the Indian Test side. Rahane has scored just 411 runs in 21 innings this year and averages below 20. Also, Rahane has scored just one Test century in the last two years for India.

And, if India decides to drop Ajinkya Rahane from the side, then both Iyer and Vihari can be accommodated. So, India surely faces a lot of selection dilemmas ahead of the Test series in South Africa, and it will be interesting to see who out of Iyer and Vihari finally makes it to the playing XI.