"Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are going slightly undercooked" - Aakash Chopra on the problems due to KL Rahul being doubtful for the England Test
Aakash Chopra believes KL Rahul's likely absence for the upcoming Test against England will be a massive blow to Team India.
Rahul suffered a groin injury which ruled him out of the ongoing T20I series against South Africa. Reports suggest that the injury might force the Karnataka opening batter to miss the England Test as well.
KL Rahul all set to miss the 5th test match against England. (According to PTI)
Reflecting on the development in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra pointed out that KL Rahul's reported unavailability could hit Team India hard in multiple aspects. He said:
"He (Rahul) is doubtful at the moment. He played extremely well last time, there is no doubt about that. The Rohit and Rahul pair had worked amazingly well but now I see problems from multiple angles. Firstly, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are going slightly undercooked."
The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma struggled in IPL 2022 and that the team does not have much time to get adjusted to English conditions. Chopra elaborated:
"Both had a 50-50 IPL and have missed one series in between. The first match of the tour is a Test match. At times, you don't get acclimatized even till the fourth Test match and here you have only one Test match. So it was already a problem and if after that KL Rahul is not present, it is a bigger problem."
Rahul aggregated 315 runs at a decent average of 39.37 in the four Tests that were played in England last year. Apart from Rohit, who amassed 368 runs, he was the standout Indian batter before the tour was cut short due to positive COVID-19 cases.
"Another big problem is who will open instead of him" - Aakash Chopra on KL Rahul's likely absence
Aakash Chopra questioned whether Shubman Gill will accompany Rohit at the top of the order. He reasoned:
"Another big problem is who will open instead of him. It is a new thread in itself that will Shubman Gill get a chance to open because Mayank Agarwal is not in the team."
The 44-year-old concluded by reiterating that Rahul's likely unavailability will be a massive stumbling block for Team India. Chopra observed:
"Can he (Mayank) be called up? What exactly is going to happen, that is going to be an interesting one. But KL Rahul's absence is going to be a huge blow for India's chances."
The Indian selectors have not named a replacement for Rahul as of yet. With Mayank Agarwal going through a lean phase lately, they might not look to include him in the squad and might want Gill to play as an opener.