Rahul seen as possible Sharma replacement as India skipper

KL Rahul is seen as a possible replacement for Rohit Sharma as India’s captain in the first match of their Border-Gavaskar series in Perth.

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KL Rahul, in blue uniform with helmet, in action in file photo. Rahul seen as possible Sharma replacement as India skipper

RAHUL SEEN AS POSSIBLE SHARMA REPLACEMENT IN PERTH SERIES

Rahul is seen as a possible Sharma replacement in India A’s Test series in Perth on November 22.

Furthermore, the 32-year-old wicket-keeper-batter will reportedly join Abhimanyu Easwaran in India A’s unofficial match against Australia A in Melbourne starting Thursday.

Moreover, Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, who were sent early to Australia, will participate in the four-day India A match.

A report from ESPNCricinfo said captain Ruturaj Gaikwad will bat one down while Ishan Kishan must give up his wicketkeeping duties for Jurel.

This came after a Sharma-captained India lost by 25 runs to New Zealand in Mumbai, allowing the Black Caps to complete a 3-0 whitewash.

SHARMA LIKELY TO MISS PERTH SERIES DUE TO PERSONAL REASONS

Moreover, Sharma will likely miss the Perth series for personal reasons.

This would leave a vacancy as captain.

Furthermore, Rahul has proven himself by playing in three Tests in India’s home season.

He was with India in the Test series opener against New Zealand in Bengaluru but missed the last two matches.

Rahul had also scored Test centuries in England, South Africa, and Australia.

It was in Australia where he made his Test debut in 2014.

Incidentally, Jurel could take on wicketkeeping duties from Kishan, who leads India A.

GAUTAM GAMBHIR TO DECIDE CAPTAINCY VACANCY

Furthermore, it’s up to head coach Gautam Gambhir to decide the captaincy vacancy.

Moreover, Rahul could impress Gambhir and convince the coach to let him return to India’s top-order position.

The Karnataka-based batter is one of only two Asian openers in England, South Africa, and Australia to have a century in the format.

However, he only came up with a batting figure of 2551 runs in 75 innings at 34.94.

Rahul started his journey as a middle-order specialist batter during the 2023-24 tour of South Africa.

In that tour, he scored 339 runs in 10 innings at 37.66, including a century in Centurion and two fifties.