India’s Test vice-captain KL Rahul believes there is “temptation” to play three spinners in the first Test against Australia in Nagpur. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting on Thursday and several key players missing, Rahul spoke about the likely playing XI for the first Test.
Rahul refrained from making predictions beforehand even though the VCA track is likely to aid spinners from the beginning.
Talking in the pre-series press conference about whether the playing XI will feature three spinners, he said, “Yes, we did see it (the pitch), but it’s still too early to really know what the pitch is going to do. We need to come here on the day of the match to know how it’s really going to play.”
“We can only look at it and assume it’s going to play a certain way, but you never know with pitches. Yes, there is the temptation to play three spinners because we’re playing in India. We’ll take that call on the day of the game or the day before the game,” Rahul added.
With Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer ruled out of the series, the middle-order will also see changes. As a result, he also addressed whether Shubman Gill will open or be slotted in the middle-order, saying “We still haven’t decided on the final XI. It’s going to be a tough decision to make. There are guys who have performed exceedingly well and there are a few spots open so there are a few discussions going on and the players are being spoken to.”
With skipper Rohit Sharma back in the mix and Gill also pushing for a position at the top of the order, Rahul also spoke about his own batting position and whether there are chances of him returning to the middle-order, where he had started his Test career back in 2014.
“Whatever the team has asked me to do, I try and prepare that way and try and do my best for the team, and if that is something that the team wants me to do here, I’ll be more than happy to do it,” Rahul said.
Quotes courtesy: PTI