England vs India: Sourav Ganguly picks his opening pair for Birmingham Test

New Delhi: There has been a lot discussion ahead of the hectic five-match Test series starting on Wednesday as England host India. While it yet remains to be seen who Virat Kohli picks for the opener in Birmingham, former Team India skipper Sourav Ganguly believes that the visitors should go with Murali Vijay and KL Rahul as the opening pair in place of Shikhar Dhawan.

Ganguly said the southpaw was a better pick for ODI cricket but the opening pair of Rahul and Vijay was the safest gamble up top for India.

“I would go with Murali Vijay and KL Rahul as openers in the Test series. Shikhar Dhawan is a good ODI player, and he was in decent touch during the ODI series as well, however, when he opens in Test cricket in overseas conditions, he doesn’t have a good record, be it South Africa, England or Australia,” Ganguly was quoted as saying to Australia media outlet cricket.com.au.

In the recent practice match against Essex, Shikhar Dhawan failed to open his account on both occasions. Meanwhile, Vijay and Rahul put up an impressive show scoring fifties.

Dhawan’s proven track record at home will give selectors a major headache if they decide to drop him, believes the 46-year-old.

“In India, he scores hundreds in Test cricket ... it will be interesting to see the team management’s decision on this,” he added.