New Delhi: India’s vulnerability has forced them to pit KL Rahul in a face-off with Abhimanyu Easwaran for a spot in the team ahead of their five-match Test series for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, says Sanjay Manjrekar.
Rohit Sharma’s boys travel to Australia after getting beaten 0-3 on home soil by New Zealand. It was their first whitewash for 91 years in a Test series involving at least three matches.
That heavy defeat has shaken the team to the core, leading to the questionable decision of including the under performing Rahul in India A’s team against Australia in Melbourne.
As skipper Rohit is likely to be unavailable for the opening Test match that begins in Perth from November 22, India is desperate to find someone who could open with Yashashvi Jaiswal.
India have uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran as an option but Manjrekar believes the Gautam Gambhir coached side isn’t confident of his ability to tackle the seaming ball in bouncy Australian pitches, which has forced them to fall back on Rahul.
“Clearly India is in panic mode. They are a bit shaken by what happened against New Zealand at home and that’s when plans start to go awry. And that is where I believe that one has to actually look at it in a different way, where you think there’s nothing to lose here, so that’s the time you go back and do the right thing and play players who deserve to get a chance,” the former India batter told ESPNcricinfo.
“KL Rahul, I don’t know there’s some fascination that the team management and the selectors have for him, that they just want him to be a part of the playing XI whether it’s at the top or down the order. Maybe Easwaran hasn’t convinced them as much.”
‘Rahul lucky’
Rahul was dropped from the Indian team for the last two Tests in in Pune and Mumbai against New Zealand and was not among runs in two tour games in Australia. He managed only 106 runs in three innings against Bangladesh and 12 vs New Zealand in two innings.
Manjrekar said Abhimanyu Easwaran should be in the playing XI in the first Test instead of Rahul in the absence of Rohit, having scored runs consistently in domestic cricket for several years.
“KL Rahul should consider himself very lucky to be getting opportunities. Such comebacks and opportunities, very few players over the years have been given. Whether he is up or down the order, the fact that he has received chances despite his average dropping, I guess somewhere they hope that KL Rahul will find the form that he is capable of.
“But I think that Easwaran opening with Jaiswal does not fill them up with confidence, but that will be the right thing to do,” Manjrekar said.
Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned India’s decision to include KL Rahul in tour games in Australia ahead of their five-match Test series Down Under Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
