IND vs AUS Indore Test: KL Rahul or Shubman Gill? – As India Cricket Team return to practice on Monday in Indore, KL Rahul vs Shubman Gill will once again dominate discussions. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have decided against sending KL Rahul to Irani Cup 2023. Now, Rohit will have to make a conscious call on who he wants to open with at the Holkar Stadium in 3rd Test of Border Gavaskar Trophy. But that’s not it, the nature of the surface might also force the team management to tinker with the combination. Follow India vs Australia Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
- Shubman Gill or KL Rahul?
- Give Ishan Kishan a go or persist with KS Bharat?
- 3 spinners or 3 seamers?
IND vs AUS Indore Test: No Irani Cup for KL Rahul, sacked vice-captain competes for place with Shubman Gill, 3 BIG selection HEADACHES for Rohit-Rahul, Follow LIVE Updates
Decision 1: Shubman Gill vs KL Rahul: Relieved of vice-captaincy duty, selectors have asked KL Rahul to focus on batting. The reason is his outrageous average since his last Test century. Rahul has managed just 15.90 average since his century in Centurion. With Shubman Gill in fantastic form, how long can Rohit-Rahul keep faith in KL Rahul?
KL Rahul since his last Test century:
- Since his last Test ton in Centurion, Rahul has been on a wretched run, averaging 15.90 in Tests.
- His poor run of form has extended to Border Gavaskar Trophy.
- So far in the series, Rahul has only managed 20, 17 & 1.
- The sacked vice-captain hasn’t even crossed the 30-run mark, scoring 8, 12, 10, 22, 23, 10, 2, 20, 17, 1 in his last 10 innings.
- Even R Ashwin (37.00) and Mohammad Shami (21.80) have a better average than the opener in the last 12 months.
Shubman Gill has done all he can to be in the reckoning. He has played just 3 Tests but has a century in 6 innings while in ODIs, he has scored a ton of runs to impress the selectors.
Decision 2: 3 seamers or 3 spinners? – The 2nd decision is regarding bowling combination. Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association has brought in red soil from Mumbai to prepare Holkar Stadium pitch. The crushed red brick will help pacers extract bounce from the wicket. While India have been playing two seamers in Mohammad Shami and Mohammed Siraj, the nature of the surface could force Rohit-Rahul to think about adding a seamer to the mix. But as whose expense?
With Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin sharing the most wickets among them, they are undroppable. Axar Patel is one whose place can be debated with the ball. But he has done wonders with the bat and it will be difficult to drop him.
India can go a batter short and call in someone like Jaydev Unadkat or Umesh Yadav to bolster pace attack. But spinners will have a say at Holkar as the match progresses. Ashwin has a great record at the venue and Ravindra Jadeja has been in tremendous form.
IND vs AUS Indore Test: No Irani Cup for KL Rahul, sacked vice-captain competes for place with Shubman Gill, 3 BIG selection HEADACHES for Rohit-Rahul, Follow LIVE Updates
Decision 3: Ishan Kishan or KS Bharat? – KS Bharat’s batting form could also force India to rethink their strategy. Even though Bharat has been brilliant behind the stumps, he hasn’t made his willow talking. Bharat has managed scores of 8, 6 & 23* with Rishabh Pant still recovering from a horrific accident.
On the other hand, India have Ishan Kishan to go with as he has shown he is still in good touch with red-ball after slamming a century in Ranji Trophy return. But it is likely that India will persist with KS Bharat. The other option is to go with KL Rahul as wicketkeeper and bring in Shubman at the top. But considering how injury-prone Rahul has been, it is unlikely.
India’s Test squad for third and fourth Test: Rohit Sharma (Captain), K L Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.
IND vs AUS Indore Test: No Irani Cup for KL Rahul, sacked vice-captain competes for place with Shubman Gill, 3 BIG selection HEADACHES for Rohit-Rahul, Follow LIVE Updates
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