Adelaide [Australia], December 4 : Indian wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul opened up about his preparation to play as an opener ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25, stating that he focused on backing himself and putting in extra practice to be ready for the role.
In the first Test at Perth, Rahul played a crucial knock of 77 runs off 176 balls, including five boundaries, and formed a record-breaking partnership of 201 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal for the first wicket.
During a pre-match press conference, Rahul shared that the team management had informed him about the possibility of him opening the batting during the BGT series, giving him ample time to prepare.
“I missed out in the New Zealand series and didn’t play the last two games. I was told to be ready, as there might be an opportunity to open the batting. I’ve opened in my career before, so I knew what needed to be done and had enough time to practice,” said the 32-year-old.
Rahul further explained that he spent significant time at the top of the order in the lead-up to the series, saying, “I had plenty of time to prepare, I came here early, played an India A game to get some time in the middle, and participated in practice games. I was able to get good preparation ahead of the series.”
India lead the five-match series 1-0 after a dominant 295-run victory in the first Test in Perth. The second Test, set to be played in Adelaide, will be a day-night encounter beginning Friday.
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.
Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal.