"He is more suited to these conditions" - Sanjay Manjrekar wants to see Mukesh Kumar in the playing XI for IND vs SA 2nd Test

Sanjay Manjrekar believes Team India should include right-arm pacer Mukesh Kumar in the playing XI for the upcoming second and final Test of the series against South Africa.

Highlighting the underwhelming performances of pacers Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur in the first Test, Manjrekar stated that he would be surprised to see India going with an unchanged lineup. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, the cricketer-turned-commentator said:

"From what we have seen in the first Test, I don't expect Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna to play together in the second Test. There will definitely be one change. If Ravindra Jadeja is fit, it will strengthen our batting. So, if Mukesh Kumar is blowing well in the nets, he could be brought in. He is more suited to these conditions."

Shardul Thakur and Praisdh Krishna proved expensive in the Boxing Day Test, finishing with economy rates of 5.32 and 4.65, respectively. India lost the match by an innings and 32 runs.

Mukesh Kumar has featured in just one Test so far. The 30-year-old picked up two wickets against West Indies in his debut outing last year.

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"All you can do is hope that the pitch is a bit easier to bat on" - Sanjay Manjrekar on India's batting lineup

Sanjay Manjrekar also stated that Team India are unlikely to make any changes to their batting unit for the second Test against South Africa.

He mentioned that the team management will give the young batters another opportunity to prove their worth, adding:

"Since it is a two-match series, you are sometimes forced to make some changes. However, I don't think India will make any major changes to their batting lineup. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid would have seen how Yashasvi Jaiswal played in the first inning, and they will continue to back him. You cannot change things with the selection when it comes to batting. All you can do is hope that the pitch is a bit easier to bat on."

India's batting let them down in the Test series opener, with KL Rahul and Virat Kohli being the only saving graces. The visitors registered scores of 245 and 131 at Centurion.

Manjrekar pointed out that it won't be easy for the young Indian batters to carve a niche in red-ball cricket, given that they have risen through the ranks based on their white-ball game, unlike senior batters like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. He said:

"It is a long road for these young Indian batters, given that they are products of white-ball and T20 cricket. If you see the earlier set of batters, we have Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who came to the side ready for Test cricket. It is going to be tough for the youngsters, but India will have to back them."

The second Test between India and South Africa will be played at Newlands in Cape Town from January 3 to 7.