IND vs SA | Ajinkya Rahane cannot play the first Test in South Africa, says VVS Laxman

VVS Laxman feels that India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane shouldn’t be a part of their first Test against South Africa in Centurion, beginning December 26, given his poor run of form in recent times. After a match-winning hundred in last year’s Boxing Day Test against Australia in Melbourne, Rahane has managed just 411 runs at 19.57 from 12 Tests this year, with just two 50-plus scores.

Laxman called for Shreyas Iyer’s inclusion in the middle-order, after the youngster became the first Indian batsman to register a hundred and a fifty in his debut Test, against New Zealand in Kanpur recently.

"According to me, Ajinkya Rahane cannot play in the first match. Continuity is very important, so I will play Shreyas Iyer because if you give someone two Test matches and the way he batted on debut under pressure," Laxman said during a discussion on Star Sports.

"He scored a century and a half-century, so I will give that continuity, the confidence that you want to give to a young batsman, I will definitely give that."

Laxman also felt that Hanuma Vihari, who is currently representing the India A team in the three-match unofficial Test series in South Africa, makes a strong case for a spot in the middle-order. Vihari has aggregated 151 runs at 75.50 from three innings in the series so far, with a highest of 72*.

"I will definitely include Hanuma Vihari in the squad because with what combination Virat Kohli plays. We have seen that the top five will be batters, Rishabh Pant at No.6 as a wicketkeeper-batsman," asserted Laxman.

Laxman, India’s fourth-highest run-scorer in Tests, felt that the management should go in with both Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin as spin-bowling all-rounders, with three pacers to follow in the bowling department.

"Jadeja can play as an all-rounder because he performs with the bat as well and you can't take Jadeja lightly as a batsman anymore, even in overseas conditions,” he said. “So Jadeja will be at No.7 and after that, four bowlers - three fast bowlers and Ravichandran Ashwin. So this will be the combination."