On the eve of India’s pink-ball Test against Australia in Adelaide, skipper Rohit Sharma has confirmed that KL Rahul will partner Yashasvi Jaiswal as the opener in the pink-ball affair.
“KL will open (in Adelaide). His batting and partnership with Jaiswal in the first Test win was key. The way he has batted outside India, he deserves it. I will bat somewhere in the middle. It was a very simple decision. Personally, it was not easy ( (as a batsman) but it was an easy decision for the team,” Rohit told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday.
The 37-year-old Rohit, who has been India’s leading Test side since the start of the World Test Championship in 2019, has been in Tests since the 0-3 home series whitewash against New Zealand in November.
Rohit completed his fifty only once in 6 innings in the series and scored 93 runs. His average of 15.16 was the worst of his Test career where he played at least three matches.
After missing the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his second child, Rohit was replaced by Rahul at the top spot. Rahul and Jaiswal made a crucial second-innings stand, a record partnership in 2011 that helped India overcome a first-innings defeat by 295 runs over the hosts.
After a stop-start Test career between 2013 and 2018, Rohit stepped up to open in Tests in late 2019, and scored 2685 runs in 64 innings with nine centuries, the most for India during this period.
Ashwin and Jadeja are decisive
India’s spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who both missed the first Test, said that the pair will remain integral for the rest of the series. Off-spinner Washington Sundar played as the lone spinner in Perth where Jasprit Bumrah-led seamers dominated proceedings.
“I was not there personally to inform Ashwin and Jadeja that they will not play in Perth. The management went with the best team they thought suited the pitch. These two will play a role in the rest of the series. They have made India’s record great in the past. We will decide after looking at the pitch,” Rohit said.