Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has shared his thoughts on who should open with Rohit Sharma in the first Test against Australia which begins in Nagpur from February 9 onwards in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
With Rohit Sharma fit and available, it has become a conundrum for the Indian team management as Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are both vying for the second opener’s spot. Both had opened in the last Test series India played in Bangladesh and while KL Rahul managed 57 runs in two Tests, Gill scored his maiden Test hundred, scoring a total of 157 runs.
Weighing in on the opener's debate ahead of the upcoming Test series between India and Australia, legendary spinner Harbhajan Singh has preferred an in-form Gill over Rahul.
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"The opening partnership is the most important thing. Openers set the tone in any series. According to me, India's openers in the Australia series should be Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. The form he is in, Gill is on another level. Even though KL Rahul is a top player, his stats (across all formats in 2022) are not favoring him at the moment. Whereas Gill is in the form of his life. He has shattered multiple records in recent months," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel.
“If Team India wants to win this Test series, then Shubman Gill should open with Rohit Sharma,” Harbhajan added.
Not only that, but Harbhajan insisted that India should stick with Shubman Gill as opener for the entire series.
"After scoring so many runs, I think he deserves to be in the Indian playing XI not for just one game. I think India should stick with Shubman Gill throughout the series. If he plays in the form and confidence that he is in, Gill will score plenty of runs for India. So I hope he gets to play," Harbhajan added.
Shubman Gill has 736 runs in 13 Tests for India with one century and four fifties to his name. On the other hand, KL Rahul has 2604 runs in 45 Tests for India with 7 centuries and 13 fifties to his name.
(Hindustan Times inputs)
