the former India Batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has said that KL Rahul’s absence from the rescheduled Birmingham Test could be a setback for Team India. Earlier appointed as Rohit Sharma’s deputy, Rahul was to travel to England for the upcoming series which included one Test, three T20Is and as many ODIs. But a back injury ruled him out of the tour ahead of the South Africa series and he had to travel to Germany for treatment.
India have already taken an unassailable 2-1 lead in the 5-match Test series, which was postponed last year due to the Covid outbreak at the visitors’ camp. One of the key aspects of the success was the runs of Rahul and Rohit Sharma.
Rohit was India’s leading run-scorer, scoring 368 runs in four matches, including fifties at Lord’s and Headingley and 127 in the second innings of the Fourth Test at The Oval. Rahul, on the other hand, scored 315 runs in the first innings at Lord’s after scoring a brilliant 129.
During the virtual interaction organized by Sony Play In the opinion of the network, Manjrekar bats will be a major challenge for the spectators at Edgbaston.
“This time, with KL Rahul out, it is a big blow for India. But there is hope in Shreyas Iyer’s selection, if he gets a game and hopefully Hanuma Vihari too; Cheteshwar Pujara is making a comeback.
“India has the resources to fill that void. But when you look at India’s fast bowling, there are quality and quality options to choose from apart from the two spinners. It will be a big challenge to bat like last time,” Manjrekar said in a virtual interaction organized by Sony Sports.
With Sharma returning to England with the captaincy responsibility on his shoulders, Rahul is unavailable due to a groin injury, which means young Shubman Gill is in line to open the batting.
“Because it is a one time Test match and India have not played one in England in a long time as they are going there after a year. The team management and we all know that it is a big challenge for India to score at least 300 runs in the first innings and hopefully there will be another big total in the second innings.
“Whatever the team has planned, they will always be looking to address the batting issues and with KL Rahul being a big blow to India, if you look at the top five or six, you will be batting. Like you don’t have a situation where you have numbers three, four, five, all in great form and playing in overseas conditions lately,” he said.
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