On the eve of India’s pink-ball Test against Australia in Adelaide, captain Rohit Sharma has confirmed that KL Rahul will partner Yashasvi Jaiswal as opener in the pink-ball affair.
“KL will open (in Adelaide). The way he batted and his partnership with Jaiswal was instrumental in that first test win. The way he has batted outside India, he deserves it. I will bat somewhere in the middle. It was a fairly simple decision. Personally, it wasn’t easy (as a batsman) but for the team, it was an easy decision to make,” Rohit told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday.
The 37-year-old Rohit, who has arguably been India’s leading Test since the inception of the World Test Championship in 2019, has been under scrutiny ever since the team’s 0-3 home series whitewash against New Zealand in November.
Rohit only crossed fifty once in six innings the series and finished with 93 runs. His average of 15.16 was the worst of his Test career in a series where he played at least three matches.
Missing the first Test in Perth due to the birth of his second child, Rohit was replaced by Rahul at the top of the order. Rahul and Jaiswal forged a crucial second-innings stand, a record 201 partnership that helped India brave a first-innings debacle to set up a 295-run win over the hosts.
