As the dates of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Series against Australia approach, which is of great importance regarding the prospects of which team reaches the World Test Championship (WTC) final, all eyes will also be on how KL Rahul performs with the bat in the long format. Rahul, coming into the series on the back of lackluster performances in recent Tests, will most likely be the one to open the innings for India in the first match for the series in Perth.
Before the start of the series, India has faced a slight blow to their confidence after conceding a historic Test series 0-3 at home to New Zealand. Adding to the complications, it is expected that the Perth Test will be played without the team’s captain and opener Rohit Sharma, who has recently welcomed his second child. With Rohit unavailable, KL Rahul along with Abhimanyu Easwaran are being tipped as the probable openers. Should the team management prefer Rahul over Easwaran, it would be another chance for the 32-year-old cricketer to earn the ‘crisis man’ accolade.
After being hit on his elbow on Day 1 of the match simulation, KL Rahul has recovered and is raring to go 👌👌#TeamIndia | #AUSvIND | @klrahul pic.twitter.com/FhVDSNk8tv
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 17, 2024
Rahul may not have had much of an impression in Australia but as an overseas specialist, he still continues to get chances. During his second Test match in 2015, Rahul scored a glorious 110 in Melbourne against Australia, which was much appreciated. After that, he went on to score centuries against England and South Africa including a remarkable knock in Centurion in the year twenty twenty-three.
It is also likely that Rahul’s past experience of playing well in adverse conditions may again tip the scales in his favour for the Perth Test. His ability to rescue the squad from difficult scenarios, which however has often been relentless in his silence of her injury-ridden limb, has been the primary reason for his being retained in the team.
Even though Rahul has the experience and respectable records dealing with Australia, and therefore expect to open the innings in Perth as he is the most likely candidate, his inclusion in the second Test is not a warrant. The Opening batsman Rohit Sharma is expected to make a comeback in the Adelaide Test, thus taking back the opening batsman position that he was holding. Even an excellent outing for Rahul in Perth may not guarantee him a spot in the starting xi, as Rohit will be included without a doubt.
But there are some encouraging signs as head coach Gautam Gambhir has mentioned that Rahul is very adaptable to batting order changes. The batsman has batted at number 6 for India often in Tests and may also be back in that normal position, depending on how the team decides to play, if the team spoils its combination. A good performance in Perth might work in favour of such a transition bringing him back to play
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Getting Perth Ready 🙌#TeamIndia | #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/E52CHm1Akv
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 19, 2024
“He can bat at number three, and he can actually bat at number six as well. So you need quite a lot of talent to be doing these kind of jobs as well. And he’s kept wickets in one day format as well. So imagine how such countries have players like KL who can even open the batting and heft her at the number six position. So I feel that, if needed be, I think he can do the job for us, especially if it is not available for the first test match, yeah,” said Gambhir during the Session with the media.
In the case of KL Rahul, however, Indian selectors have been patient in Tests, and his fits and starts syndrome has not helped him convert the starts into big score. After hitting a score of 86 and 22 in the England series in Hyderabad Test, he had to pull out of the series due to a quadriceps injury. He was brought back into the fold during the Bangladesh series in December 2023, where he could only muster a total of 106 runs over three innings during the two Tests he featured. His bad form tried to change in the next series against New Zealand but he went in on the first Test scoring no runs and twelve in the next one before getting dropped from the squad.
Now with Rohit Sharma missing the Perth Test, for Rahul it might just be one last chance that he gets under Gambhir’s guidance and Bumrah’s temporary captaincy. This match could be career defining — either helping him make a comeback to playing Test matches or cementing the fact that his return from the last time he was dropped will not work if this time he performs badly.
For KL Rahul, the Perth Test is not just another game but a test ahead of him; a turning point in his career. Considering that the opportunities are far and few in between, this could be Rahul’s last opportunity to turn things around and prove himself especially since the chances couldn’t be higher than this one.
