Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India]: Ahead of the two-match series against Bangladesh, Rohit Sharma, India’s Test skipper, has thrown his weight behind right-hand batter KL Rahul, saying it’s the team’s duty to bring out the best in him.
Sharma believes Rahul has the quality and talent to succeed in Test cricket, despite his inconsistent form and injury issues.
The two-match series between India and Bangladesh will kick off on September 19 in Chennai at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The second long-format game will begin on September 27 in Kanpur. In his first Test assignment, head coach Gautam Gambhir will be keen on securing a series win.
“There are a handful of people in world cricket who had a smooth ride. Handful of cricketers had no issues all their lives; it was all good. Everyone has an up-and-down career. The best thing to do is to understand yourself, understand expectations from yourself and what do you need to bring to table for the team. The kind of quality KL Rahul has, everybody knows about him. The message to him from our side was we want him to play all the game and bring the best out of him. It’s our duty as well to bring the best out of him,” said Rohit in the pre-match press conference.
The 37-year-old further spoke about Rahul’s last innings which came against England at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
“It’s important to give him a clear message that what he expect from you. He has done well since comeback – scored a hundred against South Africa. He scored an 80 in the first Test against England in Hyderabad and unfortunately got injured and didn’t play afterwards,” the Men in Blue skipper added.
In the end, Rohit concluded by saying that he hopes Rahul continues from where he left in Hyderabad.
“It’s important that we give him a clear message every time we get an opportunity to speak to him. That’s what we’ve done. I hope he continues from where he left in Hyderabad. He’s got the game to play spin, seamers so I don’t see any reason why he can’t flourish in Test cricket. Opportunities are there. It is important for him to understand how he wants to take his career forward,” the opener concluded.
Rahul has so far played 50 Tests in his career, where he has managed to score 2863 runs at an average of 34.08 with the help of eight centuries and 14 fifties.
For Rohit Sharma’s side, this series against Bangladesh will be followed by New Zealand’s tour of India for three Tests starting from October 16, and then the highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia from November 22.
India’s squad for the 1st Test against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Yash Dayal.