Rohit Sharma has hinted that KL Rahul might play in the first Test against Bangladesh during his press conference earlier today (September 17).
Rahul has had a rollercoaster Test career thus far with moments of brilliance interspersed with inconsistent phases. After 50 Tests, Rahul averages 34.08 with eight hundreds, the latest of which was a fighting 101 at Centurion in December.
He also featured in the Hyderabad Test against England before being ruled out of the remainder of the series due to an injury. In his absence, several young batters, including Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel impressed.
India have picked Sarfaraz and Jurel for the upcoming Bangladesh series along with Rahul, which led to selection questions ahead of the Chennai Test on September 19. Two days before the game, though, skipper Rohit hinted that Rahul is likely to play in the middle-order, possibly at No.5.
Rohit: ‘Wanted him to play all games’
The India captain threw his support behind Rahul, saying every player goes through a poor run of form. “There are very few, only a handful of people in world cricket, who have had a very smooth ride. I’m talking about the time since cricket started until now. [Only] handful of cricketers have had no issues throughout their life and it was all good.
No Shoriful, but Bangladesh include four fast bowlers in squad for India Tests#INDvBAN
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“Everyone has an up and down career, I think the best thing one needs to do at that point, is understand yourself, understand what is expected out of me, what do I need to bring to the table for the team.”
He continued: “I think, with KL, the kind of quality he has, everyone knows about it. I can only talk about since I started captaining, the kind of messaging that has been given to him from our side was very simple that we wanted him to play all games and want him to bring the best. It’s important we give him a clear message that this is what we expect from you, and I think we have done that.”
Rohit added that Rahul’s recent form will work to his advantage. Rahul had scored 86 against England in Hyderabad in the Test that India ended up losing.
“He got 100 in South Africa, got a 80 in that first Test match in Hyderabad and then got injured. Unfortunately, didn’t play any of the games after that. It’s there for us to see. The guy’s got the talent and it is important that we give him clear messages every time.
“I hope he continues from where he left in Hyderabad.”
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