All eyes will be on KL Rahul‘s batting form and position as he prepares to represent India A against an Australia A team featuring experienced bowler Scott Boland in the second unofficial Test match. The match begins on Thursday.
Notably, Rahul is the only player in the India A lineup with experience playing at the MCG, the venue for India’s Boxing Day Test scheduled for December 26.
Rahul and reserve wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel were included in the second ‘A’ Test by the Indian selectors, in consultation with the team management. This decision follows Rahul’s exclusion from the home Test series against New Zealand. Both players will join the senior team in Perth on January 11 after the ‘A’ Test.
The presence of Scott Boland, a senior Australian reserve pacer known for his pace and accuracy, will pose a challenge for Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, B Sai Sudharsan, and Devdutt Padikkal. However, the spotlight will be on Rahul due to his potential involvement in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Rahul appeared to be in good touch during the practice session at the MCG. With Easwaran and skipper Gaikwad expected to open the batting, it is anticipated that Rahul will bat at number five or six for India A.
This positioning aligns with his likely role in the Indian playing XI, should he be selected during the Test series.
There’s a strong belief that Rahul’s experience with high-quality fast bowling on bouncy pitches makes him a more suitable choice compared to domestic standout Sarfaraz Khan. Rahul boasts centuries at Lord’s, Oval, Sydney, and Centurion. This is despite Sarfaraz Khan’s impressive 150 against New Zealand in Bengaluru, which positions him as a contender for the Test match at Optus Stadium starting on November 22.
The India A team will undergo four changes from the squad that participated in the first ‘unofficial Test’ at Mackay, a match they lost by seven wickets.
Baba Indrajith, who struggled against pace and bounce, scoring only 9 and 6 runs in the first match, will be replaced by KL Rahul.
Dhruv Jurel will replace Ishan Kishan, who was involved in a ball-change controversy in Mackay. The controversy stemmed from Kishan’s curt remarks, which reportedly irked the on-field umpires.
Navdeep Saini, who also had a subpar game, will be replaced by left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed. Additionally, off-spinner and all-rounder Tanush Kotian will take the place of slow left-arm orthodox bowler Manav Suthar in the playing XI.
Wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel and middle-order batsman Ricky Bhui are the two players who will miss out on playing time.
