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Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina said that he feels that explosive opener Abhishek Sharma should play Test cricket and questioned if the IPL team owners and state associations are putting the longest format of the game in players' minds.
Raina, an Indian white-ball stalwart who also played 18 Tests for India, was speaking on former Indian opening batter Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel. Speaking on the channel, Raina said that Abhishek should be playing Tests and said that 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is "very young" and questioned if he and his coaches want him to play yet. "I feel Abhishek Sharma should play Test cricket. Vaibhav is very young. Does he want to play? What do his coaches think? These are questions. I feel he should play. Are the IPL owners and associations also thinking of this and putting Test cricket in players' minds? Coaches also have a role here," he said. Abhishek has a decent red-ball record, having scored 1,071 runs in 24 matches and 37 innings at an average of 30.60 and a strike rate of 70.46, with a century and five fifties. He has also taken 20 wickets in the format, with an average of over 49 and best figures of 4/136. Vaibhav, as well, despite his white-ball heroics, does not have a great red-ball cricket record, with just 347 runs in 10 first-class games and 15 innings at an average of 23.13 and a strike rate of 96.38, with two fifties and a best score of 93. The scores of 92 and 40 for East Zone against Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy semifinal boosted his numbers. For India U19 in red-ball cricket, he has made 331 runs in six Tests and 10 innings at an average of 33.10, with a strike rate of over 136, including two centuries and a fifty. (ANI)
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