India Tour of Australia : “Shubman Gill should get the go ahead of KL Rahul in the middle order,” asserts Akash Chopra

India Tour of Australia : “Shubman Gill should get the go ahead of KL Rahul in the middle order,” asserts Akash Chopra

KL Rahul and Shubhman Gill

kl rahul
KL Rahul

India skipper Virat Kohli‘s will be leaving for home after the Test series opener in Adelaide. Ad there has been a lot of talk around who should replace the modern-day maestro in the middle order. Many cricket pundits feel that KL Rahul is the best replacement for Kohli in the middle order. With Rahul coming off a great run in white-ball cricket, he must be confident of cementing his place in the Test side upon comeback.

But former India opener Aakash Chopra presented a different and interesting analogy. In Rohit Sharma‘s absence and with Prithvi Shaw‘s poor form. Chopra feels Rahul should open the innings alongside Mayank Agarwal. Shaw was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of the first tour game. This adds to a long string of low scores for him which started in the IPL.

“It is a good question as Kohli will leave after the first Test and who will replace him. But there is a slight catch there about who will be opening in the first Test match. Whether it will be Prithvi Shaw or KL Rahul will get his chance there itself,” Chopra said while responding to viewers’ questions in a video shared on his Facebook page.

Shubman Gill should get the go ahead of KL Rahul

KL Rahul and Shubhman Gill
KL Rahul and Shubhman Gill

Chopra feels Shubman Gill is higher in the pecking order to replace Kohli in the middle order. Although Gill suffered the same fate as Shaw in the first innings of the first tour game. He showed promise in the IPL and in the ODI series too. The Punjab lad boasts an average of 73.55 in first-class cricket, highest among active players.

“If you are looking to bat someone in the middle order, I feel Shubman Gill should get the go ahead of KL Rahul.“

“In the middle order batting, as they say to go by the rules, in terms of the pecking order Shubman Gill’s name after Virat Kohli is ahead of KL Rahul. So, in my opinion Shubman Gill will be my choice,” he adds.

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