Gautam Gambhir backs KL Rahul as Indian team leaves for Australia for Border-Gavaskar Trophy; no clarity on Rohit Sharma’s availability for first Test

Hyderabad: Indian cricket team’s head coach Gautam Gambhir threw his weight behind KL Rahul and backed the batter’s talent.

Speaking at the pre-departure press conference in Mumbai ahead of the Indian team’s departure to Australia on Monday, Gambhir said Rahul will fit into the Indian team’s think-tank perfectly, especially if skipper Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the first Test match.

“There are times when you go with the experienced players as well. And that is the quality of the man (KL Rahul). He can bat in the top order, he can bat at No. 3, he can play at No. 6. So you need quite a lot of talent to do all these jobs, and he has kept wickets in the one day format too. Imagine, how many countries have players like KL (Rahul), who can open, can bat at No. 6 as well. If needed, he can do the job for us, especially if Rohit (Sharma) is not available for the first Test match,” Gambhir said.

Rahul has had an underwhelming past few months. The batter was out for zero and 12 in the Bengaluru Test match, the only one he played against New Zealand. He also had a poor run in India A’s unofficial Test match against Australia A at the Melbourne Cricket Ground where he was out for four and 10 in the two innings he played.

But Rahul has good experience in overseas conditions, especially in seeing off the new ball, and is one of two Asian openers, along with former Pakistan batter Saeed Anwar, to have scored centuries in Test matches in Australia, England and South Africa.

The head coach said Shubman Gill and Abhimanyu Easwaran are also in the mix to open the innings, if Rohit is not available. “We will try and get the best combination possible who can do the job for us in Perth. And be it Shubman (Gill) opening the batting or (Abhimanyu) Easwaran or KL (Rahul), it all depends on what we feel is the right combination,” Gambhir said.

Gambhir was quick to add that there is still no confirmation on whether the Indian captain will miss the first Test.

There are talks of Rohit not flying to Australia with the team as he will be in Mumbai for the birth of his child.

“At the moment, there is no confirmation but we will let you know exactly what the situation will be. Hopefully he’s (Rohit Sharma) going to be available, but everything we’re going to get to know at the start of the series,” Gambhir added.

Jasprit Bumrah, who is the vice-captain of the squad, will lead the team if Rohit Sharma is unavailable.

Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Yashasvi Jaiswal have left for Australia while the rest of the squad, along with the head coach and support staff, will leave later on Monday.

India and Australia will play five Test matches for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the Optus Stadium in Perth will host the first Test from November 22.