KL Rahul last played a Test match in September in Kanpur against New Zealand. Following the Test, he was ruled out of the remainder of the series and the ODIs owing to a hamstring injury. Rahul had to go back to the grind, work on his fitness and train hard at the NCA to regain match fitness. That, he has as he was called by the team management to join the squad to begin preparations for the second Test at Vizag.
Head coach Anil Kumble was particularly happy with the opener’s progress who is coming at the back to the squad with some handy runs under his belt in the Ranji Trophy. “He had an injury in Kanpur, which all of you are aware of. And since then, he was not available for any of the Test matches against New Zealand nor for the one-dayers. He has recovered now,” Kumble said. “As per the protocol, we wanted him to go and play a first-class match and I think today he got a hundred as well (against Rajasthan). Since the match was happening very close to Vizag, it’s good to have him in the squad and he is available for selection.”
Kumble also hinted at a possibility of Rahul replacing fellow opener Gautam Gambhir for the second Test. “There are still two days left for the Test. Yes, Rahul is available for selection and you would want Rahul to be in the starting line-up, which is the reason he has been included.”
Meanwhile Kumble wasn’t very keen on reading too much into the drawn Test at Rajkot. He believed it was a batting paradise wherein batsmen from both teams got runs. When asked if a better show from the bowlers was expected in the first Test, Kumble said, “Just because they got more wickets than our spinners doesn’t mean we will be at a loss. We will make our strategy based on the pitch we get and select the team accordingly. We play to take 20 wickets and win matches. Whatever wicket we get, we will play on that.”
England are bolstered by the return of pacer James Anderson who missed the first Test due to a shoulder injury. Anderson could well feature in the second Test after being a part of the drills in Rajkot. It was a strong addition to the visitors’ side, Kumble believed. “He has got 450 Test wickets, that’s obviously experience and he has played here before. He has been a very important player for England. Obviously, you need the experience and if someone is available, then it will be a stronger unit. We would like to look at England as a team and not necessarily focus on one particular bowler or one particular batsman. For us, like I mentioned, KL Rahul is available, so we added him into our squad. And he was a part of this team for New Zealand. I am sure England, if someone is available, they will include him. So, it will be good to have a full team for both sides, going into this Test match.”
