Indian management’s choice to use KL in middle-order leaves Akash Chopra bemused

The untimely injury to Shubman Gill has yet again opened the door for an opening position in the Indian team. The management has already hinted at bringing Mayank Agarwal at the top alongside Rohit Sharma and possibly shift KL Rahul in the middle-order, due to his success in the shorter formats in the recent past.

Agarwal slots directly in the opening position due to his phenomenal record in a short Test match career for India. He has scored 1005 runs, the majority of them coming in the home Tests, while Rahul, who last played a Test in 2019, has slightly fallen back in the pecking order. But with the immense talent that the Karnataka player has, the management is keen on trying him in the middle-order, so that he bats a bit more freely.

Former India opener Aakash Chopra believes this will not be a good move, as Rahul has a proven track record while opening for India in the Test matches. The 29-year-old has played the majority of his matches as an opener and this makes Chopra a bit confused as to how Rahul can fit in the middle-order.

Aakash Chopra surprised by management trying KL Rahul in the middle-order

“There are two very important aspects of this story. The first is that you have Mayank Agarwal and Abhimanyu Easwaran available to open the innings. Second is that there is KL Rahul as well but it is believed that he will not open. The team management has already declared that Rahul is only a middle-order choice,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

The 43-year-old further opined that Rahul feels comfortable at the top in the red-ball format and all his five centuries have come while facing the new ball.

“I mean, this is surprising, right? After all, he has scored five Test centuries and all of them have come opening the innings. Why do they suddenly want him to bat in the middle-order, I don’t know.”

Chopra concluded by saying that he has failed to understand the logic behind this move and feels, Rahul was included in the squad as a backup opener, but now he isn’t one.

“I thought he was always a backup opener but apparently, he’s not. Even in extraordinary circumstances. I do understand but what I can’t get a grip of is that Rahul is no longer an opener, he is a middle-order batsman. Wow.”