KL Rahul should open with Yashasvi Jaiswal in Adelaide: Irfan Pathan

Former cricketer Irfan Pathan, reflecting on the upcoming Adelaide Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, said that India batter KL Rahul should open with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the second long-format match of the series. Earlier today, India skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed that his compatriot KL Rahul will open the batting in the upcoming Adelaide Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Rohit Sharma also revealed that he will be coming off somewhere in the middle of the batting lineup.

"He'll be opening the batting; I'll bat somewhere in the middle," Rohit Sharma was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

What this means is that the skipper will go back to the middle order despite his good showing at the top of the order in Test cricket. For KL Rahul, it means a vote of confidence in his abilities especially after his showing in the Perth Test. In the Perth Test, KL Rahul played a magnificent innings of 77 runs from 176 balls which was laced with five boundaries in his innings. Rahul along with Yashasvi Jaiswal built a record-breaking partnership of 201 runs for the first wicket in the opening Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

Speaking exclusively on Star Sports, former Team India cricketer Irfan Pathan shared his insights on the first-day preview of the Adelaide Test and said that Rohit Sharma has batted in different numbers so he won't face any difficulty in adjusting.

"I think in the Test Match, Rohit Sharma will be back. He is the captain, so he will have a straight swap with Devdutt Padikkal. And Shubman Gill should also be in the squad, instead of Dhruv Jurel. There were a lot of questions on the batting position of KL Rahul. He should open with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Rohit Sharma has batted in different numbers. So he will be able to adjust very well. Since it was a very good opening, you don't want to change it, especially after Perth's win. So Rohit and Shubman Gill will bat in the middle order, and KL Rahul and Yashasvi will both open," Pathan was quoted by Star Sports as saying.

India are currently 1-0 up in the BGT series following their record-shattering 295-run victory in Perth. The second Test will be played in a day-night format in Adelaide, beginning from Friday. (ANI)