IND vs AUS: KL Rahul talks about his batting position for 1st test in Nagpur: The most anticipated India vs Australia test series in 2023 is just around the corner and the talks in town for the marquee series have already begun. While earlier discussions were just limited to the pitches, which are feared to be the rank turners by the Australians, now the debates are moved to the playing XI for the first test match, which begins on 9th February at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.
Celebrated opening batter, KL Rahul has found himself amidst adversity as his place in the Indian team for the first test, or perhaps for the series, seems to be uncertain with the emergence of young Shubman Gill as a prominent opening partner to skipper Rohit Sharma.
During the last Australia tour of India back in 2017, KL Rahul was amongst the highest run-getters with 393 runs from four test matches at an average of 65.50. Although Rahul bossed Australia during their last India test tour, what followed next was forgettable for him. The 30-year-old cricketer faced an axe from the Indian test team in 2018 even after making a sublime 149 in the Oval.
The batter returned back to the test fold in 2021 and this time he made an immediate impact in a bid to cement his position in the team. Rahul scored a century at Lords followed by a ton at Centurian. Despite all his efforts, now Rahul finds himself in a similar situation as India gears up to take on Australia in the first test in Nagpur on 9th February.
If Shubman Gill precedes KL Rahul in the opening position as a partner to skipper Rohit Sharma, there is still a chance for the latter batsman to feature in the playing11 being a middle-order batter. However, things aren’t easy in the middle-order as well as Rahul faces stiff competition with Suryakumar Yadav in the middle-order.
During the pre-match conference, KL Rahul revealed that he is open to taking any responsibility in the team. He said if the management want’s him to bat later in the batting order, he will accept that as well.
“If the team wants to me to bat in the middle, I am ready to do it,” said Rahul in the pre-match press conference in Nagpur on Tuesday when asked about his batting position.
Further, he went on to say that there are chances of India picking three spinners in the playing11 because of the nature of the surfaces in India.
“There will be a temptation to play three spinners because of the turning track in India but we would know the pitch on the day of the game. Not decided on playing XI, tough decision, couple of vacancies are there,” he said.