Mike Hesson wants Mayank Agarwal to open for India in WTC final for an obvious reason

Former New Zealand coach Mike Hesson has explained why Mayank Agarwal needs to be roped in as Team India's opening batsman for the highly-anticipated ICC WTC final against New Zealand that will be played at Ageas Rose Bowl in Southampton on June 18.

The team management is expected to stick to the current opening pair in red-ball cricket i.e. Rohit Sharma, and, Shubman Gill but, Mike Hesson is of the opinion that Mayank Agarwal must be given a chance to open the batting for the current top-ranked Test side in Southampton.

Mike Hesson backs Mayank Agarwal to open the innings in WTC Final

"They will probably go with Rohit and Shubman but I think Mayank needs to be considered. He has faced the New Zealand attack in New Zealand, where he would have got some crucial experience," Mike Hesson told PTI on Wednesday.

During India's last visit to New Zealand in early 2020, Mayank Agarwal who had opened the batting for Virat Kohli & Co. in the two-match Test series 102 runs with scores of 34 and 52 respectively. The Men In Blue suffered a whitewash in that series.
Mayank Agarwal had previously opened the innings for India in Tests during the 'Boxing Day' Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He was made to warm the bench in the following Test at the SCG and surprisingly, was sent as a middle-order batsman (at number 6) during the fourth & final Test match at the 'Gabba' Brisbane.

Even though the Test specialist was named in the Indian squad for the subsequent four-match home Test series against England, he did not feature in a single game as India sealed the series 3-1 after tasting bitter defeat in the opening Test.

Team India look to end their ICC title drought

Team India have failed to win an ICC event after the 2013 edition of the Champions Trophy. In fact, they have made it to the semi-finals thrice (World Cup 2015, World T20 2016 & World Cup 2019) and have also made two final appearances (ICC World T20 2014 & ICC Champions Trophy 2017) but could not succeed in going all the way as the Men In Blue ran out of fire & brimstone during crunch games. 

The Indian team would be hoping to prove their naysayers wrong by lifting a major ICC silverware for the first time in eight years.