KL Rahul and Abhimanyu Easwaran ((Source – Getty Images)
With skipper Rohit Sharma likely to be missing the first Test of the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy, there have been discussions about who Yashasvi Jaiswal’s opening partner will be in Perth. According to the latest developments on that front, it seems it is going to be a battle between two players for the one vacant spot.
The second unofficial Test between Australia ‘A’ and India ‘A’ is likely to feature KL Rahul batting alongside Abhimanyu Easwaran, as per a report by ESPNcricinfo. The four-day game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will also see Dhruv Jurel donning the gloves. Rahul and Jurel left before the rest of the Test squad to get some match practice. Jurel will be taking the wicketkeeping responsibilites from Ishan Kishan, with Ruturaj Gaiwad set to drop down the order.
Easwaran has been in stellar domestic form of late, which was one of the prime reasons for him to get called up for the series Down Under. At the time of selection, Easwaran had registered tons in each of his four most-recent first-class games. He possesses an exceptional average of 49.40 in the first-class circuit up until now.
On the other hand, Rahul was always a strong candidate for the middle-order. Rahul’s track record as an opener is quite lukewarm despite his average being 34.94 in the 75 innings he has featured in. Regardless, Rahul remains the only batter to have scored centuries against Australia, England, and South Africa at their homes.
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Jurel, who has not played any Tests since Rishabh Pant’s return from an extended hiatus post the car crash he was involved in in December 2022, has quite surely cemented his spot as India’s reserve wicketkeeper and is set to be an exciting prospect in the future.
Bearing in mind all the possible permutations in Perth, the selectors and team management will quite definitely pay attention to Jurel’s displays in Melbourne with both bat and gloves. The performances of Rahul and Easwaran against the new ball will be something which will attract significant eyeballs too.