In a bid to have a clearer picture, the management is set to make their two key options faceoff in the second unofficial Test between India A and Australia A
India will hope to brush aside the recent horrors against New Zealand and set their target on the upcoming five-match Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Australia.
Ahead of the series opener in Perth on November 22, Indian selectors face a pressing concern of finding the right backup for India skipper Rohit Sharma, who is reported to miss the encounter due to the birth of his second child.
In a bid to have a clearer picture, the management is set to make their two key options faceoff in the second unofficial Test between India A and Australia A, starting on Thursday (November 7).
KL Rahul, who was recently flown to Down Under ahead of other India team members in a bid to get some game-time will open the innings alongside domestic stalwart Abhimanyu Easwaran, who will be Rahul’s direct competitor for the backup opener role in Rohit’s absence.
Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul to battle it out for backup opener’s spot
Abhimanyu was selected as the third opener for the Test squad on the Australia tour, following his impressive form, having scored centuries in each of his last four first-class matches. However, in the first unofficial Test, he had a poor outing, managing just 7 and 12.
On the other hand, Rahul was initially considered for a middle-order spot for the Border Gavaskar trophy. Since the South Africa tour in 2023-24, he has played exclusively in the middle order in Tests, accumulating 339 runs across 10 innings with an average of 37.66—above his career average of 33.87 over 53 Tests. His recent performances include a century at Centurion and two half-centuries.
Despite the middle-order role, Rahul brings significant experience opening with the new ball overseas. Notably, he is one of only two Asian openers to have scored centuries in England, South Africa, and Australia. However, his overall record as an opener reflects a moderate 2551 runs in 75 innings at an average of 34.94.
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India A squad for 2nd unofficial Test against Australia A:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), Abhimanyu Easwaran (VC), Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Devdutt Padikkal, Ricky Bhui, Baba Indrajith, Ishan Kishan (WK), Abishek Porel (WK), Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Prasidh Krishna, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (wk)
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