Australia vs India 2018-19: India's opening conundrum in Tests

2. Murali Vijay

The last time around when India toured the SENA countries, Vijay was one of the successful batsman scorers with Kohli and Rahane. Fast forward to 2018 Vijay has certainly forgotten the art of leaving the ball, which was the key to his success last time around.

Vijay averages a mere 9.37 in his last four matches.

Having been dropped after the first two Tests against England, Vijay had a short stint with Essex. With a string of good scores there and the reputation as a solid opener, he was selected ahead of Mayank Agarwal as the third opener. Vijay averages a mere 9.37 in his last 4 games. With age not being on his side, it would be an uphill climb for him.

3. Mayank Agarwal

If there is anyone that deserves a national cap, there could be no one other than Mayank Agarwal now. Through stellar performance in the domestic circuit and for India A, Mayank broke into the Indian squad against the Windies at home. He did not get a game against the Windies and subsequently not picked for the Australian series.

Mayank Agarwal averages close to 50 in LIST A cricket.

Averaging close to 50 in LIST A cricket (49.98), Mayank did not knock on the Indian door he, in fact, broke the door open. Prithvi Shaw's injury is a blessing for Mayank. He seems all set to make his debut at MCG, the same venue where his Karnataka teammate KL Rahul made his debut.

4. Cheteshwar Pujara

When you talk about opening batsmen, the first thing that comes to the mind is stability. Pujara is well known for his patience and stability. He would be an ideal choice as an opener, as none of the other openers is in form. India requires someone who could bat for a longer period and see off the new ball and Pujara is the right man for the job.

Pujara averages 116 as an opening batsman.

Pujara has opened for India in six innings so far and averages 116. With both the current openers struggling, Pujara would be the ideal replacement at the top. This would also allow Virat to go back to his 5 bowlers theory, that is by including Hardik Pandya and making Vihari bat at 3.

There are even a few other options with Parthiv Patel in the squad, but it seems very unlikely that he will make the cut. So, it would be very interesting to see who makes into the XI on the 26th.