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Will judge Agarwal after a year or so: Ganguly

Kolkata: Mayank Agarwal has impressed at the top of the order in the few Tests he has played so far but former India captain Sourav Ganguly says he would wait and watch before calling him a first-choice opener.

Agarwal, who made his India debut against Australia in December last year, struggled a bit in the West Indies but he converted his maiden Test hundred into a brilliant double ton (215) to put India in command against South Africa in the ongoing opening match in Visakhapatnam.

"The problem is we come to conclusions very quickly. With one hundred we will say he's your first choice opener and so on. But with a couple of failures you would say otherwise. This has to stop," Ganguly said in an interview on the sidelines of a Durga Puja pandal visit at the Maddox Square.

"Any young player who is doing well is a very good sign for Indian cricket. He played well in Australia. He struggled a bit in the West Indies. But in the first Test at home, he's got a double against South Africa. Let him play for a year or so then will judge how good he is."

KL Rahul's drop in form and an ankle injury to Prithvi Shaw had opened the doors for the 28-year-old Agarwal in the Melbourne Test. He had scored two half-centuries in two matches in India's historic Test win in Australia earlier this year.

The ongoing first Test also brought an end to India's misery at the top of the order with skipper Virat Kohli promoting Rohit Sharma as an opener for the first time in his five-day format career. Replacing KL Rahul at the opening slot, Rohit headlined the first day of the match, smashing 176 as he and Agarwal batted 82 overs to pile up a massive 317-run partnership and help India declared at 502 for 7.

During his captaincy days, Ganguly had pulled off a masterstroke, giving Virender Sehwag a new lease of life by promoting him to open in Tests. Without getting into comparison, Ganguly said Rohit's form at the top of the order would bolster India's batting.

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