The first Test match between India and Australia, which begins on November 22 at Perth Stadium, is anticipated to be skipped by captain Rohit Sharma. Since Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul both struggled in the unofficial Test match against Australia A, the Indian team is searching for an opener in his absence.
The Bengal opener, who scored four consecutive hundreds in domestic cricket, was rightfully called up for the series, but he hasn’t made an impression yet. In the first unofficial Test, Easwaran scored seven and twelve runs, but he was defeated by ace pacer Michael Neser in the second game and was unable to open his total.
Since 2022, however, KL Rahul has not opened in red-ball cricket. In the interim,
he batted in the middle order and performed admirably before being removed from the Pune second Test match against New Zealand. During the Mumbai Test, he also warmed the bench. He was unable to leave an impression, though, as Scott Boland dismissed him in the second over, bringing India down to 9/3, after he had left for just four runs.
Both Rahul and Easwaran’s performances would annoy the team management. In order to go to the World Test Championship finals, India must win every match in Australia after suffering a 3-0 home loss to New Zealand.
It would be devastating for the Indian team if Rohit confirmed that he was unavailable. Additionally, the potential substitutes have not yet enjoyed their time in Australia.
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Aside from Dhruv Jurel, who scored an incredible 80 runs, the whole Indian batting lineup faltered. In the first innings, India scored 161 runs thanks to his knock.