Cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra felt the Indian team should make space to accommodate KL Rahul in the Test squad, which also means Rishabh Pant may miss out. The Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) is slated to announce the 32-member Indian squad for the Australian tour today.
Adding further, Chopra said that Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal should be the first choice openers. He felt Rahul has proved himself well over the past 18 months and also because he has overseas centuries to his name.
Talking with Espncricinfo, he said, “You have Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal as the first-choice openers, and then you have Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul. I will be tempted to figure out a way to get KL Rahul back because of the kind of form he has shown. He has got three overseas Test centuries in Australia, West Indies and England. The kind of pedigree he has shown in the last 18 months, it will be a travesty if you can’t find a place for him in at least 16 members if not 11. I will have him very close to the Test team.“
Meanwhile, with the lockdown restrictions lifted on Monday in Melbourne, the city is all set to host crowds for the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia at the MCG later this year. It is the Victorian state premier Daniel Andrews who said fans will be allowed at the iconic venue.
“The Boxing Day Test of course is very different (to the Melbourne Cup) because that is some way off,” Daniel Andrews said.
He also said that he is not sure how many people will turn up for the event as the COVID-19 scare will still be prevalent in all probability when the Test takes place.