New Delhi: If skipper Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the Australia series opener in Perth, who will replace him? This is a question which has been on the minds of the selectors as well as the Indian fans after Rohit himself announced a while back that he might be unavailable for the first Test match starting from November 22 due to personal reasons.
This question was answered to a certain extent when seasoned Indian batter KL Rahul and wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel were added to the India A squad for the second four-day game against Australia A, starting at the famous MCG on Thursday. According to media reports, Rahul and Jurel linked up with the India A team after after leaving for Melbourne following the third Test against New Zealand.
Rahul to fill in for Rohit?
The decision to send Rahul and Jurel to play for India A team was made with an intention to give the duo some time of playing ahead of the important Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, say multiple media reports. It is also believed that Rahul might open alongside Abhimanyu Easwaran, as the team is all keen to look for an opening partner for youngster Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Perth Test. This comes after Rohit confirmed that he could be unavailable for the series opener in Perth.
Rahul does not have the best of the records in the red-ball format this season. Hi last outing was in India’s series opener against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where he got out for a duck in the first innings and scored just 12 runs in the second as India lost the match by 8 wickets. Rahul did not feature in the remainder of the games.
From the World Test Championship (WTC) point of view, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy holds a lot of importance as India need to win four matches our of five if they wish to qualify for the WTC finals 2025.
Batter KL Rahul has been added to the India A squad for the second game against Australia A, keeping in mind a potential consideration for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
