Tokyo, Nov 17 (FN Bureau) Perth, Nov 17 (Representative) Team India received a boost on Sunday as seasoned middle order batsman KL Rahul was declared fit and cleared to play ahead of the first Test against Australia here next week. “Based on the scans and reports, I was more confident that he would be fine. It was just a matter of controlling the pain and giving him some confidence. So from a medical point of view, he is absolutely fine” said Yogesh Parmar, the Indian team physio, according to ICC. The first Test between India and Australia will kickstart on Friday, November 22.
Rahul had copped a blow to his elbow while batting during the intra-squad training match at the WACA. Rahul had also featured for the India-A side in the unofficial Test against Australia-A at the Melbourne Cricket Ground earlier this month. Despite his recent lean patch for the senior side, the 32-year-old has been lauded by India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir as a versatile batter, who can come in handy for the upcoming series. “That is the quality of the man. That he can actually bat at the top of the order. He can bat at No 3. And he can actually bat at No 6 as well. So, you need quite a lot of talent to be doing these kinds of jobs as well,” Gambhir said recently.
“He’s kept wickets in the one-day format as well. So, imagine how many countries have players like KL who can actually open the batting and can bat at No 6 as well? I feel that if need be, he can do the job for us. Especially if Rohit is not available for the first Test,” he added.