Karnataka coach Yere Goud has suggested to bat KL Rahul at number three in the forthcoming Ranji Trophy match against Haryana. The India international opened with Yashasvi Jaiswal in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy; after that, with captain Rohit Sharma returned to open in the fourth Test in Melbourne, he moved down to number three. As Rohit was returned home for the Sydney Test, Rahul was again back to opening.
His place in the Indian Test team still remains a conundrum. In case Rohit gets backing for the England tour, Rahul may have to move back to number six with Shubman Gill likely to feature in the XI. If Rohit isn’t picked, then Rahul is again expected to open. But for the time being, he is expected to bat at number three in the Ranji, as mentioned by head coach Goud. However, his batting number will probably be changed on the basis of conditions prevailing at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
“He brings a vast amount of experience and immensely increases the value he adds to the team in all aspects of the game. We will evaluate the conditions and set the batting order accordingly. But Rahul is expected to bat at number 3,” said Goud to PTI.
Several other prominent Indian cricketers, like Rahul, are scheduled to play in the final league round of the ongoing Ranji Trophy. Delhi captain Ayush Badoni has announced that Virat Kohli will bat at number 4 against Railways, while others like Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Riyan Parag have confirmed their participation.
Currently, Karnataka occupies 3rd place with a total of 19 points from 6 matches. In the meantime, Haryana and Kerala are at the top with 26 and 21 points, respectively. Bengal is at the fourth position with 14 points whereas Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar are fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth.