AUS A vs IND A: KL Rahul to open, Dhruv Jurel to keep wickets at Perth

KL Rahul is expected to open the batting alongside Abhimanyu Easwaran in India A's second unofficial Test against Australia A, which starts on Thursday in Melbourne. With Rohit Sharma likely unavailable for the start of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rahul and Easwaran will likely compete directly for the role of opening partner to Yashasvi Jaiswal in the first Test in Perth, beginning November 22.

 

According to ESPNcricinfo, both Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, who traveled to Australia ahead of the main Test squad for match practice with India A, will feature in the Melbourne four-day game. Rahul will open with Easwaran, while captain Ruturaj Gaikwad, who batted at the top in the first unofficial Test in Mackay, is set to move down to the middle order. Jurel, meanwhile, will take over wicketkeeping duties from Ishan Kishan.

 

Rohit’s participation in the early stages of the Australia tour remains uncertain due to personal reasons. Following India’s 3-0 home-series loss to New Zealand on Sunday, he expressed doubt about his availability, saying, "I wasn't too sure if I'll be going to [Perth]."  Rahul to open for India?  It will be interesting to see how Rahul performs as he might be taking up the opening role for India against Australia for the 1st Test if Rohit fails to actually make it for the 1st Test.  By the time the 2024-25 home season began, KL Rahul's career had taken several unexpected turns, and he had solidified his position as India's first-choice No. 6. However, after the first Test against New Zealand, he was dropped from the playing XI, with Sarfaraz Khan—who had replaced the injured Shubman Gill—moving ahead of him in the batting order following his impressive 150 in the second innings. In five innings during India’s home season, Rahul posted scores of 16, 22*, 68, 0, and 12.