"Was a good thing" - Brad Hogg on India dropping KL Rahul from playing XI
Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg believes that India made the right move by dropping out-of-form opener KL Rahul from their playing XI for the third Test of the ongoing series against Australia.
He opined that it allowed the hosts to bring in someone like Shubman Gill at the right time. Hogg made these remarks during a live session on his YouTube channel on Wednesday, March 8.
The 52-year-old said:
"India got rid of KL Rahul in the last Test match, which I think was a good thing. There was an opportunity to bring Shubman Gill in, and I thought that was a perfect scenario."
Rahul's form came under the scanner following a string of poor performances in red-ball cricket. The right-handed batter mustered just 38 runs across three innings at a dismal average of 12.66 in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Gill, who replaced Rahul in the side for the third Test, too had a disappointing outing, finishing with scores of 21 and five.
"You've got to have that mixture of youth and experience" - Brad Hogg on Team India's batting lineup
Brad Hogg further stated that India cannot afford to drop all of their underperforming senior batters at once, given that they need to maintain the right balance of experience and youth.
He, however, suggested that Rohit Sharma and Co. could consider making a few changes if the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara struggle with form in the near future.
The former cricketer reckoned that team management has the option of opening the batting with someone like Prithvi Shaw, with Rohit dropping down the order. He elaborated:
"India have got rid of Ajinkya Rahane and got Shreyas Iyer in. So there are a few changes there. You've got to have that mixture of youth and experience, and I think India are doing it very well at the moment. If Cheteshwar Pujara starts dropping off again over the next year, you'll see another young player come in. It could be a Prithvi Shaw-type player.
"You might see Rohit Sharma, with his experience, just go down the order a bit and have Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill open and set up that opening combination for another ten years in the future."
Notably, the recent performances of a few senior Indian batters have concerned many fans. While KL Rahul lost his place in the playing XI, many have also raised questions over Virat Kohli's lean patch in the longest format.
Tough times for Virat Kohli 😢
#ViratKohli #BGT #India https://t.co/MFRmHS2ukX
The home team's batting cost them the Indore Test as they were bundled out for 109 and 163. They will want to come up with an improved showing in the final fixtures, considering that a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) is at stake.
The fourth Test between the two nations is set to kick off at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday, March 9.
Also Read: "They'll come back with a vengeance" - Brad Hogg expects Indian spinners to bounce back in 4th IND vs AUS Test