KL Rahul (Photo Source: X)

KL Rahul rediscovered his lost form while opening batting in the absence of Rohit Sharma during the first Test against Australia in Perth; but with captain Rohit back from his paternity leave, the question on everybody’s mind is whether Rahul will continue to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal or will Rohit return as an opener and Rahul pushed down to the middle order.
At his press conference in Adelaide ahead of the pink-ball Test beginning December 6, Rahul was asked the same question, but the 32-year-old batter was well aware of the yorker coming his way and dug it out.
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“I’ve been told but I’ve also been told to not share it today,” Rahul said in his cheeky reply as the reporters burst into laughter. “So you’ll have to wait for day one or maybe when the captain comes here tomorrow (for the pre-match press conference).”
Rahul scored a patient 26 in the first innings of the Perth Test and followed it up with a solid 77 in a 201-run opening partnership with Jaiswal, who scored 161, in the second innings.
Rohit, meanwhile, joined the team midway through the first Test and has since been practicing against the pink ball.

During the day-night practice match against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra, the opening pair of Rahul and Jaiswal was not disturbed, and the duo produced another good opening stand of 75 runs.
Rohit, who batted at No. 4 in that game, scored just 3 runs, which extended his lean run after the skipper had made just 91 runs in the six innings of the three Tests against New Zealand at home just before the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Speaking about how he approached batting in the first Test, Rahul said he keeps it “simple” and gives the bowlers and the new ball “respect” at the start of the innings.
“I try to keep it really simple. The new ball does a lot. So you need to respect the first 20-25 overs and try to soak in the pressure, try and get used to the pace or whatever the wicket is doing…If you get through that period, then, like I said, batting seems pretty normal to wherever you are in the world. So it’s about managing those first 20-25 overs,” he said.

Rahul’s 103 runs in his two innings at Perth came off 250 balls, which reminded of the job Cheteshwar Pujara did during India’s back-to-back Test triumphs in Australia on the last two tours.
“I’ve played in different conditions; and when you do well in different conditions — pace-friendly conditions or away from home, you do get a little bit of confidence and you do understand how you need to do it, and you repeat those processes again and again.
“Those are the things, those are the key points that you need to really work on — playing the ball late, leaving a lot of balls and waiting for the bowlers to come to you.”