KL Rahul scored 44, 38, 13, and 6 in two Tests against West Indies.
There was an area of concern in the opening slots as KL Rahul failed to make a single significant score, while Mayank Agarwal scored a fifty. The focus was on KL Rahul, who has been struggling in the format since his 149 against England at Oval in 2018. He has not made a single fifty since then and is only holding onto his place due to injuries to other openers.
However, Sourav Ganguly feels that this inconsistency from Rahul is a good chance for selectors to try Rohit Sharma as an opener in upcoming Test series against South Africa. "The opening still remains an area to work on. Mayank Agarwal looks good but will need a few more opportunities. His partner, KL Rahul, though, has flattered to deceive and that creates an opening at the top," Ganguly opined.
"I had suggested earlier about trying Rohit Sharma as an opener in Test cricket and I still believe that he needs to be given an opportunity because he is too good a player to be left out in the cold. After a fantastic World Cup, I believe he will be itching to grab the opportunity to open in Tests. With Ajinkya Rahane and Hanuma Vihari settling in nicely, there is not much left to play around in the middle order," Ganguly wrote.
"Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami have been a good foil for him (Bumrah); and with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini waiting in the wings, the Indian pace-bowling department currently has the riches to manage everyone’s workload without affecting the balance of the team," concluded the 47-year-old Ganguly.
(Times of India inputs)