KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: BCCI)
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri advised Indian team management to continue with the opening combination of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second Test against Australia in Adelaide. Captain Rohit Sharma missed the opening game of the five-match series due to the birth of his son and in his absence, Rahul opened and stitched a vital 201-run partnership with Jaiswal in the second innings. Courtesy of their start, the visitors posted a hefty target, winning the match by 295 runs.
Shastri wants the team management to continue with the same formula and added that the returning Rohit should slot in the middle order. He highlighted that the 37-year-old didn’t have the time to adapt and, for the same reason, he wants the cricketer to bat in at number five or six.
“I think he (Rahul) should carry on (opening) because Rohit has not had much time since he’s come here (Australia). Very quickly he had to play that Prime Minister’s XI game. But I would say carry on with the same setup. He [Rohit] can bat at five or six,” Shastri said in the ICC Review.
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This is one of the strongest batting line-ups: Shastri
Star batter Shubman Gill will also be returning to the playing XI on the second test. The youngster missed the Perth Test due to a finger injury but batted well in the warm-up game against Prime Minister XI. Speaking on the same, Shastri added that Gill will make the team look much stronger, and he also believes this to be India’s strongest batting line-up that has travelled to Australia in the last 10–15 years.
“The fact that Shubman Gill is fit as well makes it a very strong Indian side. I would say in the last 10–15 years, of all the sides that have come out to Australia, you get the feeling that this is one of the strongest batting line-ups simply because of the experience. You have Shubman fit and bats at three. Rohit’s fit, he comes back and plays instead of (Devdutt) Padikkal and (Dhruv) Jurel,” he added.