Taking cues from Gautam Gambhir’s statements in the pre-departure press conference, Aakash Chopra has noted that either Abhimanyu Easwaran or KL Rahul might open with Yashasvi Jaiswal if Rohit Sharma remains unavailable for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
The five-Test series between India and Australia is set to commence on November 22 in Perth. The Indian squad has flown to Australia and there is still no clarity on Rohit’s availability for the first Test.
What Did Aakash Chopra Share on his YouTube Channel?
While speaking about the potential captain and opener for the Perth Test in Rohit’s absence on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said, “At this point in time, there is a huge question mark over Rohit Sharma’s availability. He (Gambhir) also said that he would inform the media once he comes to know before the start of the series. However, if he is not there, Jasprit Bumrah will be the captain. There was no doubt about that since he had been appointed vice-captain but a stamp has been put on that.”
Chopra believed that Shubhman Gill could have been a good choice to open in the one-off Test. In the BGT 2020-21, Gill played six innings as an opener, scoring 259 runs at an impressive average of 51.80. His 91 in the second innings set the stage for the historic Gabba win.
“The second big question was who would open. He said they have two options in Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul, which tells me they are not thinking about Shubman Gill. I had floated the idea that you could try opening with Shubman Gill but he said he should continue doing what he is doing and why should he be touched. It’s alright.”
Highlighting the significance of the Australia tour for Rahul, Chopra added, “He spoke about the other players as well that they are very good. He spoke about KL Rahul that he has the versatility that very few players have, and since he is being sent up and down the order a lot, we need to be a little more patient with him. You know I like KL Rahul’s game. I also feel patience is nice but this tour will be extremely critical because opening there won’t be easy.”
Is KL Rahul Set to Open in the Perth Test?
After Cheteshwar Pujara’s omission from the side, Gill himself chose to bat at No. 3. Since then, he has been batting at his preferred position and seems settled, averaging 42.09 with three centuries. It might not be ideal to change his position now.
In such a scenario, Rahul is the one name that emerges as an obvious choice, as he has probably batted at almost every position for India as and when asked. However, as an opener, his numbers are not as impressive as Gill’s in Australia. In four matches, he has a tally of 183 runs at an average of 26.14 with one century.
Plus, he is going through a rough patch, with not many runs to his name in Test cricket. Since 2022, Rahul has scored 514 runs in Tests from 12 matches at an average of 25.7, including three half-centuries and a century. Because of his poor form, he was also dropped from the last two Tests of the three-match series against New Zealand.
After the 3-0 loss against the Kiwis, Rahul was added to the India A squad for the second unofficial Test against Australia but failed to capitalize on the opportunity, with scores of 4 and 10 in the first and second innings, respectively.
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