BGT: Ravi Shastri backs Rahul to open, feels Rohit can come in "five or six"

Former cricketer Ravi Shastri has backed KL Rahul to continue to open for India in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy because of the lack of time captain Rohit Sharma has had in Australia. India head coach Gautam Gambhir has found himself in a dilemma that needs to be addressed before the day-night Test begins in Adelaide on Friday.

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The opening conundrum began after KL Rahul made the Australian bowlers toil with his swagger on a challenging Perth Test strip. Shastri was clear in his views when he went on to suggest that India should continue to back Rahul in the opening slot. For Shastri, personally carrying with the same setup would be the way to go. "I think he (Rahul) should carry on (opening) because Rohit has not had much time since he's come here (Australia)," Shastri said in the ICC Review.

"Very quickly he had to play that Prime Minister's XI game. But I would say carry on with the same setup. He [Rohit] can bat at five or six," he added. Apart from Rohit, India will be bolstered by the return of Shubman Gill, who missed the Perth Test due to a hand injury. He didn't waste time in going about his business and raced to fifty in the Prime Minister's XI match.

"The fact that Shubman Gill is fit as well makes it a very strong Indian side. I would say in the last 10-15 years, of all the sides that have come out to Australia, you get the feeling that this is one of the strongest batting line-ups simply because of the experience. You have Shubman fit and bats at three. Rohit's fit, he comes back and plays instead of (Devdutt) Padikkal and (Dhruv) Jurel," he added. Australia squad (for second Test): Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.

(ANI) Ends PARV/PRAKHARSHARMA/