Coming to Australia earlier than the rest of the senior men, to join the A-team, KL Rahul remained in the news only for the fact that he was the best contender to replace Rohit Sharma, who was supposed to sit the first Test out on paternity leave for the birth of his second child.
Fast forward to the first game, he filled in for Sharma and was one of the only three who crossed 20 runs in the first inning for India as the side was bundled for a dismal 150 runs. He departed for 26 after a Mitchell Starc delivery was controversially deemed to have nicked Rahul’s bat. The third umpire’s decision, as it often does, divided the fans into two groups, and the louder of these said that the spikes on the ultra edge were caused when the bat glazed against the pad instead of the ball. But regardless of the noise, KL Rahul could not do much than to walk off the field and return in the next innings.
And when he did return, he proved why his batting record in away conditions always saves him from getting sacked from the side. He managed 77 runs off 176 balls at the time when the pitch still had not eased down as much. By the time he was dismissed off another Mitchell Starc delivery that landed in Alex Carey’s gloves, India had taken the game way out of Australia’s reach.
But from the start, Rohit was always a stand-in for Rohit Sharma. With Sharma’s return, Rohit’s time in the team should have been over. Instead, now not only will he retain his spot, as per the Indian skipper, he will also carry on opening for the team.
“He’ll be opening the batting; I’ll bat somewhere in the middle.” Skipper Rohit Sharma said a day before the second Test game, when the big question was shot at him.
Rohit, himself, has struggled immensely to chip in with regular runs at the top this year in Tests. Since the start of 2024, he has managed to score only two hundred and as many fifties in 21 long-format innings. With Rahul opening alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, followed by Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively, Rohit is likely to make an entry at the fifth position, just before Rishabh Pant comes in to bat.
Sharma last batted at this position all the way back in 2018 and does not boast a very impressive record here. But more than his batting number, point of entry would matter, especially in the first innings.
Unlike what they faced at their home against New Zealand, batting was not the cause of concern for India in Perth. True, the 150 runs total in the first innings was too meager but in hindsight, Australia could not even come to par with that. On top of it all, the team went on to score a mammoth 487 runs in the second innings.
India’s probable squad for the Adelaide Test:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Washington Sundar, Nitesh Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
