KL Rahul has emerged as the chief target for Australia pacer Scott Boland as the tall pacer hopes to exploit the bouncy, seam-friendly conditions when the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series gets underway on November 22. KL Rahul has had a reputation for playing calm and big innings, but his record here has been less than convincing, averaging just 20.77 from five Tests, though he did get a memorable century at the SCG in 2015. Indian captain Rohit Sharma is likely to miss the opening Test at Perth due to personal reasons. KL Rahul might play a very important role in strengthening the batting lineup of India.
Star Indian Batter KL Rahul On Target
Boland, who has had several battles with Rahul over the years, he felt that Australia could apply significant early pressure on the Indian batsman. His comments come at a time when the Australian selectors are still sizing up their team for the much-awaited home series where every spot is worth competition for. The four-day match at the MCG for the Australia A team has become a proving ground where emerging players fight for a place in the Test lineup.
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“I was lucky to bowl him in a Test, over in India a couple of years ago, but it’ll be nice to play against him in our backyard,” Boland said. “He’s a world-class player but someone I think we can get on top of pretty early and hopefully stay on top of him for the majority of the summer.”
More Bounce, More Seam: A Big Troubling Factor For India?
Meanwhile, Rahul and stand-by wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel have already reached Australia to join India A, attempting to acclimatise themselves to local conditions by having some valuable match-practice. Boland and Australian players are aware of Indians getting whitewashed at home 3-0 against New Zealand, and Boland was quick enough to warn against over-extracting the result in isolation.
“There’s so much more bounce here, more seam,”
“The way they’ll structure their team will be completely different to what you see over in India.” said Boland
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