KL Rahul’s place in the Indian team has become a topic of debate after his failure in the first two Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests against Australia.
The right-handed opener was preferred in India’s starting XI over the in-form Shubman Gill but he failed to repay the faith of the team management, registering scores of 20, 17 and 1 across the three innings in Nagpur and Delhi.
Subsequently, he was stripped of the vice-captaincy for the remaining two Tests against Australia. His removal as vice-captain also led to a speculation that Rahul might be dropped from the playing XI for the third Test, slated to be played in Indore from March 1.
Amidst all this, India skipper Rohit Sharma on Tuesday (February 28) said that Rahul losing the vice-captaincy tag doesn't indicate anything and the management will continue to back the players with "potential".
Rohit also kept the Rahul versus Gill debate open on the eve of the third Test. While Rahul hasn't crossed 25-run mark in his last 10 Test knocks, Gill slammed a century on the last Test tour of Bangladesh.
Both Rahul and Gill batted simultaneously during the training session on Monday (February 27). They also batted in adjacent nets in the optional practice on Tuesday.
"I spoke about it after the last game as well. Players who are going through a tough time, given their potential they will be given enough time to prove themselves,” Rohit said in a media interaction on the eve of the third Test.
"Being vice captain or otherwise doesn't tell you anything. At that point in time he was the vice captain. His removal as vice captain doesn't indicate anything."
When asked the preparation of both Gill and Rahul, the captain added: "As far as Gill and KL Rahul are concerned, that is how they train before any game. Today was optional training session for the entire group. Whoever wanted to come they came.
"As far as 11 is concerned, I would like to do it at the toss. I prefer it that way considering last minute injuries are a possibility."
Having won the first two Tests, Team India have taken an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-match series. The Rohit Sharma-led side needs to win one of the remaining two Tests to secure a spot in the World Test Championship final.
(With PTI Inputs)
