The India Cricket Team find themselves in a precarious situation. With Rohit Sharma likely to be unavailable for the Perth Test, the vacant opener’s spot continues. Abhimanyu Easwaran was tipped to take the spot but his dual failures for India A will keep the selectors guessing. And finally, KL Rahul’s faltering in the 2nd India A Test will add more misery for the think-tank.
Yashasvi Jaiswal stands as the lone opener in the team, awaiting who will be partnering him for the Perth Test that starts on 22nd November. As far as domestic cricket is concerned, Abhimanyu Easwaran was miles ahead of his fellow competitors, but when the actual test began on foreign soil, he faltered twice.
Who can open for India in the first Test?
Easwan can back himself claiming he has 5 first-class centuries in the last 8 innings. But (7,12,0) for India A against Australia A will do no good for his notion. KL Rahul too faltered. He was recently added to the India A squad and in the second game at the MCG, he was cheaply dismissed after scoring just 4 runs.
Indian captain, Rohit Sharma is likely to be unavailable for the opening game for personal reasons in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. And with the Easwaran suddenly dipping in form, causing a massive headache for the team management.
In an ideal situation, it should be Shubman Gill who should ideally move up the order and open with Jaiswal. At number 3, Virat Kohli should come in. The vacant number 4 can be decided among the likes of KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, and Sarfaraz Khan.
While Sarafarz and KL Rahul have failed to perform in recent times, Jurel however has set the pace. While India A collapsed, it was Jurel who struck a mighty 80-run knock to help the visitors manage a decent first-innings score.
