5 reasons why Abhinav Mukund's career might end after the Sri Lanka tour

Abhinav Mukund's omission from the Indian team for the second Test against Sri Lanka is reflective of his fate. He scored a fluent 81 in the second innings of the first Test but even that knock was not enough to secure his place in the team.

The sensational comeback of Dhawan and failure of Mukund to cash in on the chances offered to him has made the Tamil Nadu batsman's future gloomy and he may be axed from the squad when the selectors pick India's Test team for the next series.

The left-handed batsman has tremendous potential and his exploits in the domestic season are indicative of his batting prowess. However, his Test future looks doomed. Here we take a look at the five reasons which reveal why his career looks done and dusted.

---

#5 - Shikhar Dhawan back in form

Before the start of the Test series against Sri Lanka, Abhinav Mukund was India's first choice replacement for the openers. But viral fever ruled out KL Rahul from the first Test and Shikhar Dhawan was roped in to replace Rahul.

Dhawan at that time was India's second choice replacement for openers and was behind Mukund in the race to fill the opener's position. However, Dhawan produced a dazzling knock in the first innings of the first Test and it not only cemented his position in the team but it also pushed Mukund back.

Dhawan's aggressive innings of 190 in the Galle Test laid the foundation of India's victory and hence he became the automatic choice to open the innings for the next Test. Mukund scored a half-century in the second innings but by that time Dhawan had already gone ahead of him.

The rise of Dhawan means now there are three players who are ahead of Mukund in the race to become India's Test openers. Murali Vijay's terrific record in the last couple of years has made him India's first choice opener and hence when fit, he will, by default open India's innings.

KL Rahul has scored seven fifties in the last seven Test innings and this incredible consistency makes him the automatic partner for Vijay at the top of the order.

So far, Mukund was roped into India's Test squad as a replacement for the openers but Dhawan, with his sensational comeback, has sidelined Mukund as the first choice replacement for the openers.

This makes things extremely difficult for Mukund and hence he may not feature in India's next Test tour.

#4 - India's future Test venues unsupportive

Mukund has long struggled against swing

After enjoying a long home season, team India is expected to play several overseas Test series in the next couple of years. In January 2018 India is supposed to visit South Africa for a Test series and then is expected to travel to England and Australia.

These overseas tours will be played on surfaces that assist the seamers. In these conditions, the new ball moves dangerously and the sharp swing is known to cause trouble to the batsmen. Plus the extra bounce makes things more difficult.

While playing in such conditions, India would like to have an opener who has impeccable defense and possess effective temperament to negate the threat of the new ball.

Mukund, on the contrary, has a history of struggling against swing bowlers and it was evident in his previous tour of England. Although, in the recent years he has improved phenomenally his flaws against the moving ball still exist.

Hence, the team management may prefer not to include Mukund in the squad that will play Tests in these conditions.

#3 - The rise of youngsters in domestic cricket

U-19 player Ishaan Kishan has impressed selectors

Abhinav Mukund rose to prominence due to his heroics in the Ranji trophy tournament in 2016. He scored 849 runs at an average of 65.30 with four hundreds in 14 innings.

His stats were highly impressive but in the same season, Priyank Panchal from Gujarat piled up 1310 runs at a staggering average of 87.33. Panchal also slammed five centuries in 17 innings. From Jharkhand, Ishan Kishan amassed 799 runs in 16 innings that included three hundreds with an average of 57.07 runs per innings.

Both Panchal and Kishan are younger than Mukund and have been noticed by the selectors. As a reward for their impressive run in the Ranji season both were included in the India A squad that played against the visiting Australian Test team in February 2017.

There are also other young openers who are making a strong statement with their solid batting performances in domestic cricket and their young age offers them an edge over Mukund.

Hence, in future, the selectors might sideline Mukund to pick a youngster as a probable Indian opener in Tests.

#2 - Failure to cash in on opportunities

Mukund has had some very mediocre scores since his comeback

Abhinav Mukund made his Test debut in 2011 against West Indies. He scored 11 and 25 runs respectively in the first and the second innings of his debut Test.

His first Test fifty came in his fifth Test innings and he was out for a golden duck in the next innings.

In his second tour, he scored 64 runs in four innings in England and was subsequently dropped from the team.

He made a comeback in the Test team six years later and scored a duck in his comeback innings against Australia.

So far, the Tamil Nadu opener has scored 320 runs in 14 Test innings. In a career spanning for seven years, he has produced only two fifty plus scores and has a mediocre average of 22.85.

Courtesy of such poor returns, selectors may think of moving ahead of Mukund and he may be dropped from the team.

#1 - Defensive batting approach

Mukund has had a low strike rate through his innings - something Virat Kohli is against

Mukund is an old-fashioned opener who thrives on patience and strong defense. The left-hand batsman generally waits for the bowler to commit a mistake and scores his run on poor deliveries. He is not keen on counter-attacking and does not possess innovative strokes that transform good deliveries into boundaries.

His defensive batting approach is also a reason why he may be dropped from India's Test squad.

In the current Test arena, teams are not only focused on scoring runs but are also determined about scoring them quickly so that their bowlers have enough time to claim 20 wickets. This approach has become a norm in Tests and most players have adapted their game according to this requirement.

Cheteshwar Pujara received flak for his low strike-rate. He too has now amended his game and is scoring runs quickly.

Mukund, however, is still playing with the old approach. On only four occasions in his 14 Test innings, he had a strike-rate of more than 50. His overall strike rate of 45.71 is considered to be low in the modern game and this may become an Achilles heel for him.

Virat Kohli, India's captain is a staunch follower of the policy of accumulating quick runs and hence he may pick other batsmen over Mukund only because of a better strike-rate.