Sanjay Manjrekar Names India XI For Perth Test: KL Rahul To Bat In Middle Order

Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has included KL Rahul in his India playing XI for the first Test against Australia. However, he does not consider Rahul the best choice for the opening position in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy opener.

India will be without captain Rohit Sharma and injured batter Shubman Gill for the first Test of the five-match series, starting on Friday, November 22, at Optus Stadium in Perth.

Despite these absences, India has options for the opening and number three slots with players like Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, and Devdutt Padikkal. Manjrekar, however, has chosen a different lineup and batting order.

Manjrekar believes Rahul's current low confidence makes him unsuitable as an opener. Instead, he supports a possible debut for another player. He has selected Easwaran to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal and placed backup wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel at number three above Padikkal.

Explaining his decision, Manjrekar said, "It's not like KL Rahul as an opening option is setting the stage on fire. Going by the reality, KL Rahul currently you can see, you've got to feel for him, I love him as a player the kind of talent he has."

Manjrekar feels that Rahul would excel at number six. He believes this position suits him better when batting with tailenders and dealing with a softer ball. "I'm going by KL Rahul for the work he's done down the order and very recently in South Africa," Manjrekar added.

The former cricketer expects Virat Kohli to bat at number four and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant at five. This arrangement places Rahul in a role where he can add significant value to the team.

Bowling Lineup Choices

In terms of bowling, Manjrekar supports Washington Sundar partnering with Ravindra Jadeja as spinners over veteran Ravichandran Ashwin. For pace attack duties, he has chosen Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep.

Here is Sanjay Manjrekar's predicted India XI for the Perth Test: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.