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In the absence of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul opened for India in the first Test played against Australia in Perth and scored 26 and 77 runs.
KL Rahul is expected to open for India in 2nd Test against Australia. (Picture Credit: Screengrab)
KL Rahul opened for India in the first Test against Australia, which was played at Optus Stadium in Perth from November 22 to 25. The right-handed batter scored 26 runs from 74 balls in the first innings and hammered 77 runs in the second innings of the match, which India won by 295 runs under Jasprit Bumrah’s leadership. Rahul got a chance to open for the Indian team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who missed the Test series opener due to the birth of his second child.
But after Rohit’s arrival, there are question marks over Rahul’s batting position. Many former greats and experts of the game feel that India should not change the combination and continue with Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers. Amid reports of Rohit sacrificing his opening position for Rahul, the 32-year-old right-handed batter was asked about his batting position in the second Test during a press conference on Wednesday (December 4), and in reply he gave a cheeky response.
“I have been told, but I have also been told not to share. You will have to wait for Day 1 or maybe when the captain comes here tomorrow,” Rahul said.
Rahul, who made his Test debut for India against Australia during the Boxing Day Test played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in December 2014, will play a pink ball Test for the first time in his career.
During the press conference on Wednesday, Rahul was also asked how he prepared himself to open the innings after batting in the middle order for quite some time for India at the highest level.
“I missed out in the New Zealand series. I didn’t play the last two games, so I was told to be ready. There might be a chance for me to open the batting, so I got enough time to prepare, and opening is something that I’ve done for a long time in my career. So, I just had to go back and practice it a little bit more. And like I said, I batted a lot in the top of the order, so I know how I need to get my runs and what processes I need to follow. And I got enough practice time. I came here early and played in India A game that helped me to get some time in the middle. So, I’ve got a lot of time in the middle. So, it was good, and it helped me in my preparation.”
