"I'm a huge fan of him" - Danish Kaneria picks Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Hanuma Vihari to potentially replace Ajinkya Rahane 

Former Pakistan cricketer Danish Kaneria admits he has been a huge fan of Suryakumar Yadav. Kaneria believes the upcoming fourth Test between India and England is the right time to integrate the swashbuckling batsman into the Test team.

That after training vibe ✅ pic.twitter.com/5BHpXGOCIV

— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) August 23, 2021

India face a huge conundrum when it comes to their middle-order batting. Cheteshwar Pujara might have defended his place with his resilient knock in the second innings at Headingley, but the same cannot be said for Ajinkya Rahane. The Indian vice-captain has recorded a string of low scores since scoring a century in the Boxing Day Test.

The visitors currently have options like Suryakumar Yadav and Hanuma Vihari waiting on the sidelines for an opportunity. The former is yet to make a Test appearance while Vihari was last seen in the Sydney Test, where he defied all odds to rescue India to a draw despite injuring his hamstring.

Danish Kaneria feels Suryakumar Yadav should be the one to replace Ajinkya Rahane in the playing XI and occupy the No.5 slot ahead of Hanuma Vihari. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaneria said:

"Ajinkya Rahane is going through very poor form now, he is having troubles outside the off-stump. India have Suryakumar Yadav and Hanuma Vihari on the bench, but I will go with Suryakumar Yadav. I've always been a fan of him, he is a very good cricketer and I would now like to see him in the Test team. It is now time to induct him into the team, introduce some flavour in the side."

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Too many weaknesses in India's batting at the moment: Danish Kaneria

Kaneria noted that Vihari could be a potential bowling option with his part-time off-spin. However, he believes India cannot afford to compromise their batting to accommodate an additional bowling option because of the fragile state the batting line-up is in right now. Kaneria added:

"If you rely on Hanuma Vihari for an extra bowling option, it's fine but India are in dire need of batting, there are a lot of weaknesses seen in the batting at the moment. In England, bowlers win you Test matches until and unless there are runs on the board."

Hello and welcome to The Oval. Our venue for the 4th Test against England.It's been a damp morning so far.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/LmeFqxjGkw

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 31, 2021

India will step out tomorrow (September 2) to face England in the fourth Test at The Oval. The series is tied at 1-1 with two more games to go.