Indian batter KL Rahul opened the innings for Team India in the absence of captain Rohit Sharma during the first Test match between India and Australia in Perth. The veteran batter impressed everyone with his technique and intent, playing a match-saving knock for the side.
Captain Rohit Sharma has rejoined the team in Australia after missing the first Test to be with his family for the birth of his second child. Rahul displayed composure during India’s first-inning collapse for 150 and followed it up with an amazing 77 in the second. His 201-run partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second inning put the game out of Australia’s reach.
Shubman Gill was also ruled out of the first Test clash due to a thumb injury and is set to return in the side for the day-night match in Adelaide. The return of Rohit and Gill has sparked various discussions about the batting order of the Indian side.
Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been a rock-solid batsman for Team India in Test cricket for a very long time, has consistently played crucial innings under pressure, showcasing his resilience and ability to anchor the team in challenging situations. The experienced batter expressed his opinion on the following topic.
He stated, “I think, for some reason, if we can carry on with the same batting order, like KL and Yashasvi to open, Rohit could come in at three, and Shubman could come in at five.”
“If Rohit wants to open, KL should bat at No. 3. Nothing later than that. I think he has to bat top of the order because it suits his game really well. I hope we don’t tinker around with that.” Pujara added
According to him, Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel should be dropped from the side to make way for experienced opener Rohit Sharma and the talented Shubman Gill, who bring greater stability and firepower to the lineup.
The batter also backed Washington Sundar over Ravindra Jadeja and Ravinchandran Ashwin due to his batting ability in the lower-middle order for the side. He believes Sundar can contribute some crucial runs from lower down the order.
