India head coach Gautam Gambhir has backed struggling KL Rahul for the opening job while mentioning that there are not many cricketers, who without much discomfort can play any role from the top to No 6 in the batting order. Rahul, who was backed at No 6 in the home Test season, is likely to fill in for Indian captain Rohit Sharma at the top, if he misses the first Test against Australia in Perth, starting November 22.
Asked about change in thinking about Rahul's batting number in less than one month, Gambhir in the pre-departure press conference on Monday, November 11 said, "Yeah, because there are times when you go with the experienced players as well, I think and that is the quality of a man that [KL] Rahul can bat in the top order, he can bat at 3, he can play at 6 - so you need a lot of talent to do all these jobs & he keeps in ODIs.
"Imagine how many countries have players like KL who can actually open the batting and can bat at number 6 as well? " Gambhir said. There is still lack of clarification if Rohit will play the first Test or not, however, Gambhir has thrown his weight behind Rahul being one of the contenders.
"So I feel that if needed be, I think he (Rahul) can do the job for us, especially if Rohit is not available for the first Test match," he added.
After the Bengaluru Test when Shubman Gill had a stiff neck, Virat Kohli, and Sarfaraz Khan moved up the order so that Rahul's batting position stayed intact. "We don’t want to touch KL’s batting position much. He has found a place at 6, so let’s give him a rope there," captain Rohit Sharma had said then. Hence, this sudden change in the planning is a bit abrupt.
If Rahul flourishes, then no one will point a finger but his scores in the last few innings 0 and 12 at No 6 in Bengaluru Test against New Zealand and 4 and 10 for India A at the MCG against Australia A as an opener have left too much to be desired.
