“Are you going to be happy with KL Rahul as opener?” - Dinesh Karthik on big questions for India ahead of Tests against Australia

Veteran Indian keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik reckons that KL Rahul’s spot as opener will be a big quandary for India during the Test series against Australia in February-March. He also added that there could be a toss-up between Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel for the third spinner’s slot if Ravindra Jadeja is fit.

Rahul led India in the two-match Test series in Bangladesh. Although the visitors emerged victorious by a 2-0 margin, Rahul had a forgettable series with the bat. The 30-year-old registered scores of 22, 23, 10, and two. Earlier, he had a mixed ODI series as well. After smashing 73 in the first game, he followed it up with scores of 14 and eight.

India’s next Test assignment will be a four-match series at home against Australia. The hosts will need to register a comprehensive win to stay in the hunt for a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Sharing his views on the massive Test series, Karthik told Cricbuzz:

“There are two big questions when we play Australia. Are you going to be happy with KL Rahul as opener? Who are you going to choose between Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel as the third spinner? These are tough questions to answer, but they need to be answered.”

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Rahul and Shubman Gill opened the innings in Bangladesh in Rohit Sharma’s absence. Meanwhile, Axar was preferred over Kuldeep as the second spinner in the Dhaka Test, when India decided to go in with an extra pacer.

“He definitely needs to be more free in his mind” - Dinesh Karthik on KL Rahul’s struggles

Asked what according to him is ailing Rahul, Karthik observed that the batter does not seem to be playing with a free mind and opined:

“Giving him an opportunity against Australia should ideally get the best out of him. But he definitely needs to be more free in his mind and that will come with some success in white-ball cricket. If he does well in the ODIs, that will keep him in good stead.”

India will take on Sri Lanka and New Zealand in white-ball series’ at home before their clash against Australia in Test matches.

While some experts and fans reckon that the time has come for Gill to replace Rahul as opener in Tests, Karthik feels the experienced Karnataka batter deserves a few more opportunities. He explained:

“The fact that KL has been the vice-captain for a couple of series now and the captain of this series (against Bangladesh), to drop him would be a big miss.”

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Praising Gill for making good use of his chances on the big stage, Karthik added:

“I feel for Shubman because, whenever given an opportunity, he has done so well. But I would hold Shubman for the moment, explain the situation to him. He could be in the same situation five years later.”

While Rahul struggled in Bangladesh, Gill notched up his maiden Test ton in the second innings in Chattogram, which India won by 188 runs.