Perth:
KL Rahul on Friday copped a blow on his right elbow and left the field for scans during India’s match simulation at the WACA ground, raising concern ahead of the first Test against Australia here from November 22. Rahul made 29 before pacer Prasidh Krishna pinged on his elbow with a climbing delivery, and the batter had to walk off after consulting with team physio. The 32-year-old is in line to open the innings if skipper Rohit Sharma does not play in the first Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
“About Rahul…it’s just happened so will take some time to assess (his elbow),” BCCI sources told PTI.
Rahul is looking for a Test comeback as he was not picked in the starting XI after the Bengaluru match against New Zealand last month.
The Bengaluru man’s last Test hundred was against South Africa at Centurion in December 2023 and since then made just two fifties in nine innings.
Scans for Kohli
Meanwhile the Sydney Morning Herald reported that star batter Virat Kohli underwent scans on Thursday for an unspecified injury.
However, that did not prevent Kohli from playing in the match simulation and he made 15 before getting out.
“There’re no concerns as of now with Virat Kohli,” the BCCI source informed PTI.
Kohli is struggling for big runs of late and his last Test century was against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July 2023.
Since then, the 36-year-old has made just two fifties in 14 Test innings.
Across the last 60 innings, Kohli has averaged a modest 31.68 with just two hundreds. His average in 2024 is a meagre 22.72 from six Tests.
However, Kohli has excelled in Australian conditions in the past, averaging over 54 across four visits to Australia starting from 2012-13.
Former India coach and captain Ravi Shastri had backed Kohli to regain his touch against Australia.
“Well, the king is back in his territory,” Shastri said on the ICC Review show.
“That’s all I will tell (the doubters). When you’ve earned that title after your exploits in Australia, it will be on your (opponent’s) mind when you go out to bat,” he added. PTI UNG 7/21/2024 AH AH
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