While plenty of the Australian cricket media’s focus over the past couple of weeks has been on identifying the man to replace David Warner as Usman Khawaja’s opening partner for the first Test against India in Perth later this month, it is the visiting team to who is grappling with the same conundrum.
With Rohit Sharma potentially unavailable for the series opener starting November 22, India have to decide on a candidate to open the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. The only spare specialist opener in the Test squad is the uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran whose time in Australia with India A has been disappointing, given how it was widely viewed as his best audition to edge closer to a Test debut.
The 29-year-old averages nearly 50 in first-class cricket and won selection for the tour of Australia based on solid red-ball form. But Easwaran’s scores when opening the batting for India A against Australia A in Mackay and Melbourne are 7, 12, 0 and 17. Not lasting long at the crease against Australia A’s pace attack has dented Easwaran’s chances of winning a maiden Test cap in Rohit’s absence.
The other man India looked to as an option is KL Rahul, who flew to Australia after the Test series loss to New Zealand and slotted in as opener for the second A game at the MCG. However, Rahul had a forgettable match. As predicted by Test hopeful Scott Boland, he got his man for just four off four balls on day one of the second four-day match. In the second innings, Rahul found a bizarre way to be dismissed: failing to offer a shot to the offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli’s first delivery to be bowled between his legs.
Rahul, capped 53 times in Tests, has hundreds in Australia, England and South Africa as an opener but his recent form has been patchy. Add on a Test batting average of just 20 in Australia to his failures at the MCG, and Rahul has not put himself in prime position to partner Jaiswal in Perth.
Three other members of the A squad are in India’s Test squad – Prashidh Krishna, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Dhruv Jurel. Krishna claimed four wickets in the loss to Australia A in Mackay, and then did well in bowler-friendly conditions at the MCG to claim six from that fixture. Given the doubts over Mohammed Siraj and the fact that Akash Deep has not played a Test outside of India, the form of Krishna in Australia might edge him ahead. His height and ability to get bounce off the surfaces there are what the selectors picked him for, and by claiming 10 wickets a 17.30 apiece from 59 overs across two tour matches Krishna could have put himself closer to Jasprit Bumrah come November 22.
Reddy did little of note in Mackay, scoring 0 and 17 and taking one wicket from 16 overs. Jurel, who like Rahul linked up with the A squad in Melbourne, pushed his chances with a solid 80 and 68 and also held five catches.
India have one intra-squad match to lock in their best team for the Perth Test. Jurel, 23, averages 63.33 from three Test matches against England this year, with a top score of 90, and there have been calls to be selected alongside Rishabh Pant.
In his pre-departure press conference, head coach Gautam Gambhir was asked about who the team management was looking at to open in case Rohit does not make it to Perth. He cited the two obvious names, Easwaran and Rahul, and then said the call would be made closer to the first Test. Could it be that India possibly rejig their lineup, if Easwaran and Rahul do not inspire confidence in the final warm-up? Might Shubman Gill go back to opening the innings for one Test, and Jurel slot in as a specialist batsman?
