Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that right-hand batter KL Rahul is not the ideal option for India’s opening slot in the first Test of the upcoming five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 against Australia as he doesn’t have a lot of confidence in himself at the moment. The first Test of the highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy will be played at Perth’s Optus Stadium from November 22 onwards. “It’s not like KL Rahul as an opening option is setting the stage on fire. Going by the reality, KL Rahul currently you can see, you’ve got to feel for him, I love him as a player the kind of talent he has. He looks a bit down on confidence and you don’t want someone like him batting at the top of the order because much of the tempo of the innings is set at the start number 1,2 and 3,” Manjrekar was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Manjrekar further stated that he feels that Rahul would bat perfectly at number six and will provide value to the team at that position.

“I’m going by KL Rahul for the work he’s done down the order and very recently in South Africa. He was batting at number six with a softer Kookaburra ball and if he has to bat with the tailenders, I feel he will be terrific where he’s got the big game as well. So I see KL better used and more chances of KL Rahul adding value to the team at that position,” he added.

Rahul left the nets early during India’s intra-squad match simulation on Friday as he was hit on his elbow by a Prasidh Krishna delivery. The blow forced KL to leave the ground and seek medical attention and he did not return for Saturday’s training session when India’s main batters were having a hit at the crease, as per ESPNCricinfo.

Rahul put in some solid work in nets on Sunday, in a training session of nearly three hours. After two days of match simulation, which featured India’s main XI against a line-up comprising of fringe and India A players, some squad players trained on WACA ground’s centre wicket and nets.

Rahul spent an hour on nets before a short workout in the nets. There were no signs of discomfort as far as he was concerned, but he did not look as fluent as he looked before the elbow hit while opening with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Rahul’s improved fitness status comes after the news of Gill’s unavailability for the Perth Test broke out. Gill suffered a thumb injury on the second day of practice while practicing in the slips.

After the series opener in Perth on November 22, the second Test, featuring the day-night format, will take place under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10. Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18.

The traditional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne’s iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the series’ penultimate stage.

The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to a highly anticipated series.

Squads for the first (Perth) Test:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.

Australia: 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.