On November 16, top-order batter Shubman Gill fractured his thumb while fielding in the slips on Day 2 of the match simulations. While there is no official confirmation from the team, Gill is likely to be ruled out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 opener. However, a few days ahead of the Perth Test, in a good news for Team India, KL Rahul returned to the nets. Rahul copped a blow to his elbow as he could not get bat on a rising delivery from Prasidh Krishna during match simulation.
On November 17, Rahul was seen practicing in the nets. Before copping a blow, Rahul looked in good form as he handled the short deliveries. However, his form has been question after the low scores in Bengaluru Test against New Zealand followed by another set of low scores for India A against Australia A. His dismissal for India A went viral on social media as well.
If Gill misses out Perth Test, Rahul may get promoted to no.3. India already have a few contenders for a spot in the middle-order. Dhruv Jurel may play as a pure batter after his twin half-centuries against Australia A. Jurel hasn't played a Test since star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant returned to the side.
Gambhir backs Rahul amidst criticism
The 32-year-old has been backed by coach Gautam Gambhir to do well. In the pre-departure press conference, he questioned how many teams in the world have someone like Rahul who can bat anywhere in the order.
“I think, and that is the quality of a man that he can actually bat at the top of the order. He can bat at number three, and he can actually bat at number six as well. So you need quite a lot of talent to be doing these kind of jobs as well. And he's kept wickets in one day format as well. So imagine how many countries have players like KL who can actually open the batting and can bat at number six as well. So I feel that, if needed be, I think he can do the job for us, especially if it is not available for the first Test match, yeah,” he told the reporters in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, there is a question mark on skipper Rohit Sharma's availability as well. After the birth of his second child, he may opt to skip the series opener to spend time with his family or board the flight to Australia. If Rohit doesn't play first Test, Rahul can open the innings as well. During the match simulations, he opened the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
