The fact that KL Rahul was named as the vice-captain in the squad for the first two Tests against Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy all but confirmed that he was going to start in the Nagpur Test.
The sword then fell on Shubman Gill, who was benched despite his terrific form across formats – he had hit his maiden Test century in December in Bangladesh before piling up centuries, including a double hundred, in white-ball cricket – as India handed a debut cap to Suryakumar Yadav for the vacant middle-order spot owing to Shreyas Iyer’s injury.
KL Rahul failed in the first innings against Australia
KL Rahul had not gone past 25 in his last 7 Test innings, and he made it 8 with a score of 20(71) in the first innings in Nagpur. Although he did well to bat out time in the last hour-and-half of Day 1, this low score, with the in-form Gill on the bench, will bring the walls closer to KL Rahul’s position in the Test team.
A BCCI official now said in stern words that even if he is the vice-captain of the side, he can be dropped from the playing XI, and there is no immunity to the 30-year-old opener.
“Who said there is vice-captain’s immunity? There is no rule that vice-captain cannot be dropped. Rahul for sure is one of the candidates for future Test captaincy but when there are in-form players on the bench, nobody is expendable,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
If KL Rahul continues to underperform and disappoint, the management will have to bring Gill in the line-up, the official asserted.
“Yes, it’s true that KL hasn’t been in great form in all three formats, especially in Tests and T20s. He has also struggled to pace his innings in ODIs. But we should understand that we have not played many Tests in the last two years. So, it’s understandable. I am sure he will bounce back in Delhi or in the series. But if he does not, Gill is an excellent option on the bench,” the official added.
Meanwhile, India have taken a stronghold in the Nagpur Test with a lead of 144 runs and both Jadeja and Axar remaining unbeaten at the end of Day 2 following their respective fifties. Rohit Sharma starred with his 9th Test ton earlier in the day.
