The Indian batter, KL Rahul has opined that Mohammed Siraj and Ravichandran Ashwin will enjoy bowling to the Australian left-handers in the 4-match Border Gavaskar Test series. Australia is one of the rare teams in the world that have 5 left-handers in their top 7. Barring Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, Australia have Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Travis Head, Alex Carey, and Matt Renshaw in their line-up.
The Indian vice-captain, speaking in the press conference ahead of the opening game in Nagpur said that Ashwin and Siraj will be excited to have a crack at the Australian batting order. As per the quotes in India Today, KL Rahul said, “Australia having so many left handers – it will be a challenge for our bowlers. Not many teams have 6-7 left-handed batters. Siraj and Ashwin will be excited to have a crack.”
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Mohammed Siraj was one of the star performers in the 2020/21 series where the Indian team, despite being marred with several injuries won the Border Gavaskar Trophy Down Under.
Talking about the preparations in Nagpur, KL Rahul said, “Reverse swing plays an important role in India, historically speaking. It is something we have tried to prepare for in the last 10 days.”
India is expected to put up turning tracks in the series. Rohit Sharma’s team is vying for a spot in the World Test Championship final and currently sits at the second spot in the points table. Speaking about the batting strategy for the first match, Rahul said that India will look to be aggressive if the opportunity arrives.
KL Rahul explained, “If the situation demands us to play free shots we will go for it otherwise we stick to the regular Test cricket batting template. It is basically trying to work out a plan between the batters in the middle.”
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With the young batter, Shubman Gill in sensational form, veteran cricketers like Harbhajan Singh have backed the youngster to open alongside skipper, Rohit Sharma, leaving KL Rahul as a middle-order option. However, the latter faces stiff competition for the other role as well with Suryakumar Yadav being a potential option to fill the gap. Rahul is ready to be in the middle if the combination demands so.
