New Delhi, Dec 5 Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan feels that returning captain Rohit Sharma and opener Shubman Gill will get a place in the playing XI for the second Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
The former player said batter Devdutt Padikkal and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel will be dropped for the pink-ball Test as Rohit, who missed the series opener in Perth due to the birth of his second child, and Gill, who suffered a thumb injury, will be the likely change in India's XI.
India started the much-awaited tour with a bang in Parth as they registered an emphatic 295-run win to bolster their hopes of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
"I think in the Test Match, Rohit Sharma will be back. He is the captain, so he will have a straight swap with Devdutt Padikkal. And Shubman Gill should also be in the squad, instead of Dhruv Jurel," Pathan said on Star Sports.
The former pacer also answered the much-talked-about question and backed KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal as the opening pair with Rohit playing a middle-order batter role. Rahul and Jaiswal had strong shows in the second innings of the opening Test with scores of 77 and 161 runs, respectively.
"There were a lot of questions on the batting position of KL Rahul. He should open with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Rohit Sharma has batted in different numbers. So he will be able to adjust very well. Since it was a very good opening, you don't want to change it, especially after Perth's win. So Rohit and Shubman Gill will bat in the middle order, and KL Rahul and Yashasvi will both open," Pathan opined.
He further claimed the twilight period will be the most challenging phase of the day-night Test at Adelaide Oval. "One more thing, which I think is very important to talk about in the preview. When it's time for twilight, that is the biggest challenging moment in the Pink Ball Test Match. Because you see a lot of wickets fall during that time. So if you counter that, then this Test Match is ours," the former all-rounder said.
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