Team India have received a major boost ahead of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as senior batter KL Rahul seems to have recovered from the blow he copped to his right elbow on the first day of the centre-wicket match simulation at the WACA.
Rahul came out to bat in the nets on Sunday (November 17) at the Western Australia Cricket Association (WACA) Ground and looked fairly comfortable while playing his shots. Rahul's fitness is the key for the tourists as they set out to register a hat-trick of Test series wins against Australia down under.
For the unversed, Rahul was hit on his right elbow by a delivery that rose more than he expected. He received immediate treatment on the ground before trudging off the field as a precautionary measure. He didn't turn up to bat on Saturday and therefore there were several reports of him missing the Test series opener at the Optus Stadium.
Notably, Rahul has emerged as the prime candidate to open the innings in Perth alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal should skipper Rohit Sharma be unavailable for selection. Rohit has not travelled to Australia yet and is still with his family after the birth of his second child on Friday.
Since Rahul has previously opened for India in Australia, the team management is likely to put the onus on his shoulders.
Australia's squad for the 1st Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc
India’s squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Mohd. Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed
