Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has said that Team India may not be considering star batter Shubman Gill as an opener if Rohit Sharma isn’t available for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 as well. He added that coach Gautam Gambhir named Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul as the opening options for the series in the pre-departure press conference as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “At this point in time, there is a huge question mark over Rohit Sharma’s availability. He (Gambhir) also said that he would inform the media once he comes to know before the start of the series. However, if he is not there, Jasprit Bumrah will be the captain. There was no doubt about that since he had been appointed vice-captain but a stamp has been put on that.”
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“The second big question was who would open. He said they have two options in Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul, which tells me they are not thinking about Shubman Gill. I had floated the idea that you could try opening with Shubman Gill but he said he should continue doing what he is doing and why should he be touched. It’s alright,” Chopra further added.
In the same video, Aakash Chopra also applauded Gautam Gambhir and the team management for showing faith in KL Rahul. However, he also opined on the significance of the Australia tour for the Karnataka batter.
“He spoke about the other players as well that they are very good. He spoke about KL Rahul that he has the versatility that very few players have, and since he is being sent up and down the order a lot, we need to be a little more patient with him. You know I like KL Rahul’s game. I also feel patience is nice but this tour will be extremely critical because opening there won’t be easy. There is another thing for which he is not getting enough credit. There have been three comebacks – Varun Chakaravarthy, Sanju Samson and Washington Sundar – and three of them have been incredible. The credit for that, of course, goes to the selectors but will go to the coach as well because he backed them. It speaks very highly,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
