Prithvi Shaw, Murali Vijay should play in Australia: Gundappa Viswanath

Gundappa Viswanath batted for Murali Vijay’s inclusion for the team’s tour Down Under next month.
India batsman Murali Vijay | AP
India batsman Murali Vijay | AP

CHENNAI: Former India batsman Gundappa Viswanath has welcomed the move of India selectors to groom the likes of Prithvi Shaw, and batted for Murali Vijay’s inclusion for the team’s tour Down Under next month.“He looks very promising. He has come up the hard way, by making an impression in Ranji Trophy. I like his approach to Test cricket. He was very calm.

I also liked his strokeplay,” remarked Viswanath. He, CD Gopinath, Vaman Kumar, Bishan Singh Bedi, Kris Srikkanth and TA Sekhar were honoured at the MA Chidambaram Birth Centenary function, which was held in the city on Friday.

“Vijay has proved himself at this level. He has toured England as well, apart from playing county cricket. We need his experience at the top of our order. He deserves another chance.” After his century on debut, Shaw’s outing has prompted many comparisons with batting greats like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Viswanath echoed India skipper Virat Kohli’s thoughts on this, stating that Shaw needs to be given space to develop his own game.  

“It is not fair to compare one plaer to another. Each one has his own style. From what I have seen of him, he has been impressive.”Reposing faith in Shaw’s batting abilities, Viswanath feels that placing the youngster at the top of India’s batting order for their Australia tour is a no-brainer. “He has good temperament, and scores all around the wicket. After scoring li­ke this, there is no way that one cannot play him in Australia.” 

The former selection committee chairman also feels that the Australia tour comes at a crucial juncture in the career of Kohli the skipper as he has already lost two overseas series in South Africa and England this year. “As a batsman, he has proven himself to be one of the best. But he has not proven his mettle as a captain yet. He has to win a series in England, South Africa or Australia. He came close in England. Let’s see what he does in Australia.”  

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