Mayank Agarwal and Shashi Tharoor

Ahead of the third Test slated to kick off in Melbourne on the Boxing Day, the only concern over India's playing XI for the match is the opener's slot. Mayank Agarwal has already been backed by many to make his debut at the MCG, but concern seems to hover around his partner for the game. While few have kept the experienced Murali Vijay beside the debutant, few other options that have popped up include the name of Rohit Sharma and Hanuma Vihari. However, politician Shashi Tharoor has a unique option for the debatable opener's slot for the third Test.

Prithvi Shaw seemed to be an ideal option for India ahead of the series kick off, but an unfortunate ankle injury during the practice game put him to the sidelines in the first two Test and later was ruled out of the series. In the absence of the youngster, Vijay and Rahul compiled 49 runs and 48 runs respectively in the first Two Tests against Australia, while also recording a duck in the Perth Test. The poor performance of the openers urged the management to recall Mayank for the last two Tests.

While the 27-year-old was devoid of a chance to make his debut on home turf against West Indies despite making it to the squad, it seems most certainly that Mayank will make his debut next week when the third Test between India and Australia kick off at the MCG. However, there seems to be a bit of doubt over his partner for the match - should it be Vihari or Rohit? And Tharoor opines Ravichandran Ashwin as an option.

"The departure of @PrithviShaw is a bigger setback than the Test loss to Australia. Perhaps we should ask @ashwinravi99 to open with Mayank Aggarwal now? He has an organised defence & a calm head on his shoulders. And that wld free up a slot for a middle-order bat or all-rounder," tweeted Tharoor.

The departure of @PrithviShaw is a bigger setback than the Test loss to Australia. Perhaps we should ask @ashwinravi99 to open with MayankAggarwal now? He has an organised defence & a calm head on his shoulders. And that wld free up a slot for a middle-order bat or all-rounder. — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) December 20, 2018

Well, Ashwin does have the experience to play as an opener. He had in fact started out his career in domestic cricket as an opener. Meanwhile, former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar opined Mayank to open with Murali in Melbourne. "I will personally still go (open) with Mayank Agarwal and Murali Vijay," Manjrekar told IndiaTV.

