After the conclusion of the ODI series, both teams are now gearing up for the first Adelaide Test of the prestigious Border-Gavaskar trophy. The four-match Test series is scheduled to start from 17th December. In the lead up to the test, the Indian Team, however, has another problem to contend with—that of the opening pair.
Who Will Open For Team India in Adelaide Test?
Regular opener Rohit Sharma is bound to miss the first Adelaide test owing to COVID protocols. As a result, the opening pair debate has been brought up again. Among possible contenders, the names that have been doing the rounds include Shubham Gill, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, and Prithvi Shaw.
Going into the match, the only thing that could perhaps stop Mayank Agarwal from being picked up as one of the openers is injury or sickness. Agarwal has a stellar record under these conditions and has been one of the more consistent performers of the side. During the 2018-19 season, when India had last toured Australia, he had racked up decent scores at the SCG and MCG. He also has two double hundreds under his belt, something that is bound to give him a bit of leeway going into this competition for a spot. Even in this season, Agarwal has shown himself to be in fine form in the match against Australia A, racking up 61 in 120 deliveries. Thus, Mayank looks like the most probable choice for management for the Adelaide Test.
Who’s Second in Adelaide Test?
Given Mayank’s stellar record, the question would then shift to who could be selected as the second opener for the match, and this is bound to be a close contest between the three contenders.
A couple of years ago, Prithvi Shaw would have been a solid contender for the spot. His debut century against the West Indies brought him instantly into the limelight, with some even comparing him to Sachin Tendulkar’s prodigious talent. However, now, things are not as rosy anymore. With a forgettable IPL season and a series of low knocks, Shaw has not been in the thick of things for quite some time now. Granted, he has a promising test record and the ability to play under challenging situations; his current form, however, remains to be seen. Maybe if picked in the Adelaide Test, he could be the one to make all the difference.
Another possible contender for the spot is Shubham Gill. Now, Gill hasn’t debuted for the Indian in Adelaide Test yet. However, if his first-class career is anything to go by, he has the talent to go the distance. In 22 first-class matches, Gill has scored 2162 runs at a brisk average of 69.74. What’s more, he has even displayed his ability to adapt to the conditions in Australia with the fast, bouncy pitches. In the match against Sydney A, Gill has proved to be quite an impressive performer scoring 43 off 58 and 65 off 78 in the two innings, respectively. Granted, most of his runs had come when he was batting in the middle order. But if selected and with the right backing, the young lad could be in for a promising test debut.
Conclusion
Lastly, the final choice is explosive KL Rahul. Now, Rahul has had an extremely fruitful season in this year’s IPL, playing for King XI Punjab. He opened the innings for the team and ended the tournament as the highest run-scorer of the tournament. This peak form is reflected in his ODI and T20I statistics with team India. Outside the limited-overs format, however, the numbers have been anything but impressive.
In the last 12 test innings that he has played, he has not scored a half-century in any of them; 7 of these innings have had scores below 10. Thus Rahul’s performance in the test format leaves a lot to be desired. At the moment, he does not seem to be a frontrunner for the opening spot. However, if the team management is in the mood for experimenting, he could crop up as a potential candidate for the Adelaide Test.