MUMBAI: In a positive development for the India team ahead of their first Test against Australia, KL Rahul returned to batting during the training session at the WACA Ground on Sunday, putting to rest doubts over his fitness.

Rahul was struck on the elbow by a rising delivery from Prasidh Krishna on the opening day of the intra-squad practice match. After receiving treatment in the middle, he walked off, but to the relief of the Indian camp there is no injury.

On Sunday, the final day of the team’s practice at the WACA, Rahul batted for a considerable time and took part in all the drills during a three-hour training session, as per reports. “I had got a bad hit on Day 1 of the game. I am feeling good today, getting ready for the first game. Happy that I could come here early and get used to the conditions. Yeah, I got a lot of time to prepare for this series and I am excited and looking forward to it,” Rahul said in a video shared by BCCI on X.

India team assistant physio Yogesh Parmar said that from a medical point of view, Rahul was fine after treatment. “I took him for X-Ray and scan and based on the report I was more confident that he should be fine. It was a matter of controlling the pain and giving him some confidence,” Parmar said.

In the absence of skipper Rohit Sharma, ace speedster Jasprit Bumrah will lead India in the first Test starting at Perth’s Optus Stadium on November 22. Rahul is all set to return to his familiar slot as opener to partner the in-form left-hander Yashasvi Jaiswal.

The two had opened the batting on the first day of the intra-squad match involving the Test players and the India A squad members and batted for a few overs before Rahul was struck on the right elbow.

While Rahul was picked for a middle-order role and is expected to revert to that once Rohit returns ahead of the second Test, he is a highly experienced Test opener. Off his 91 innings, he has opened in 75, aggregating 2551 runs at an average of 34.95. Of his eight hundreds, he has scored seven as an opener, with a highest score of 199. He has enough experience of playing in Australian conditions, having been part of two tours. In fact, his international career began on the 2014-15 tour in which he scored his first Test hundred at the Sydney Cricket Ground as opener.

The decision to open with Rahul in Perth is in keeping with coach Gautam Gambhir’s comments in his pre-departure media interaction. “Rahul can bat in the top order, can bat at No.3, can play at No.6 as well. You need quite a lot of talent to do all these jobs, and he has kept (wicket) in ODIs as well,” he said. “If needed, he can do the job for us, especially if Rohit is not available for the first Test.”

The Australia series presents a perfect opportunity for the Karnataka batter to regain his place after being dropped for the last two home Tests against New Zealand following his 12 runs across both innings in the first Test. His build-up to the series hasn’t gone to plan. He went early to Australia to play the India A match against Australia A, but failed in both the innings at the MCG.

GILL’S NO.3 REPLACEMENT

India though have another big hole to fill at No. 3 with a thumb hairline fracture ruling Shubman Gill. When Gill sat out the first Test against New Zealand due to stiff neck, Virat Kohli batted at No.3. It remains to be seen what the team management decides for Perth. For Gill’s spot, Dhruv Jurel is the front runner after two solid half-centuries in the second India A-Australia A game at the MCG.

With no Rohit for the Perth Test, the selectors have asked left-hander Devdutt Padikkal, who was in the India A squad, to stay back. He will be added to the 18-member squad. Padikkal, whose only Test came at home against England early this year, scored 36, 88, 26 and 1 in the two games versus Australia A.

The team management has also has asked three India A seamers – Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and Navdeep Saini – to stay back. Saini played in the SCG and Brisbane Tests on the last tour.

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