Cheteshwar Pujara on KL Rahul’s place in the batting order as India gears up for changes in the Adelaide test.
Cheteshwar Pujara believes the opening combination of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal should not be broken.
“I think, we can carry on with the same batting order. KL and Yashasvi to open. Rohit could come in at three, and Shubman could come in at five,” Pujara said in a chat with ESPNcricinfo. “If Rohit wants to open, KL should bat at No. 3. Nothing later than that. I think he has to bat top of the order, because it suits his game really well. I hope we don’t tinker around with that.”
That could very well be the outcome. Devdutt Padikkal, who made way in Perth with scores of 0 from 23 balls and 25 from 71 balls. But where does Gill fit in, if he is healthy enough to play, with Rahul, Jaiswal, and Rohit at No. 4 and Virat Kohli at No. 5?
“Ideally No. 5. Because it allows him to come in at a time, even if we lose two wickets early. He is someone who can negotiate the new ball,” Pujara said. “But if he walks in after, say, 25 or 30 overs, he can play his shots. He can play his natural game. And in case we lose the first three wickets early, Gill walks in and saves Rishabh Pant for the old ball. [Pant] doesn’t have to face the new ball. I wouldn’t want him to walk in to bat when the ball is hard and new.”
“There is no question about it,” Pujara said when asked the question. “This bowling attack has given us success. [Jasprit] Bumrah looked really good. [Mohammed] Siraj was very good. And then it was supported by Harshit. He bowled really well, you have to accept that. He was playing his first game [for India], still he ended up pitching the ball up.