Jasprit Bumrah to lead, KL Rahul likely to open innings if Rohit Sharma misses Perth Test: Gambhir

Head coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday said Jasprit Bumrah as designated vicecaptain will lead India in the opening Test against Australia in Perth if regular skipper Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the game due to personal reasonsThe straighttalking former opener also indicated that KL Rahul could be asked to open the innings in place of RohitThe second batch of the Indian players is leaving for Perth but Rohit has stayed back Uncertainty remains if Rohit will compete in the seriesopenerAt the moment there is no confirmation We will let you know exactly what the situation will be Hopefully he is going to be available but everything you want to know you will get to know before the start of the series Gambhir saidBumrah is the vicecaptain so obviously If Rohit is not available he is going to lead in Perth the coach addedRahul likely to openRohits possible absence also leaves a spot vacant at the top of the batting order and Gambhir said one among the uncapped Abhimanyu Easwaran and KL Rahul who both played in the unofficial Tests against Australia A for India A will be pickedObviously there is Easwaran there is KL there We will take a call closer to the first Test match if Rohit is not availableThere are options There are quite a lot of options in this spot Once it gets closer to the first Test match we will try and play the best playing XI who is going to do the job for us he addedHowever he gave enough indications that Rahuls experience might prevail over rookie Easwarans current formThere are times when you go with the experienced players as well and that is the quality of the man He Rahul can actually bat at the top of the order he can bat at number 3 and at number 6 as well said the former southpawAlso ReadRohit Sharma in or unavailable for Perth TestSo you need quite a lot of talent to be doing these kind of jobs as well and he has kept wickets in Oneday format as well So imagine how many countries have players like KL who can actually open the batting and can bat at number 6 as wellSo I feel that if needed be I think he Rahul can do the job for us especially if Rohit is not available for the first Test match Gambhir saidTeam moving forward coach hints on Shardul nonselectionThe coach backed uncapped allrounder Nitish Reddy who has a batting average of 21 in firstclass cricket and was picked ahead of veteran pace bowling allrounder Shardul ThakurIt is also about moving forward and I feel that this is the best set of players that we have selected to do the job for the country Gambhir said indicating that doors are closed on Shardul for the time beingShardul was one of Indias heroes at the Gabba with handful of wickets and a halfcentury He has been seamer allrounder in SENA countriesWe have picked the best squad who can do the job for us Nitish Reddy we all know that how incredibly talented he is and if given an option he will deliver for us Gambhir saidWhy Harshit Rana wasnt sent for A tourRana was not sent with the India A squad for the unofficial Tests in Australia to be ready for the BGT series but Gambhir said the management did not want to add to his workload by getting him to play FirstClass gamesHe had played a firstclass game against Assam and he did reasonably well took fivefor and scored halfcentury We all thought that he has had enough bowling under his belt rather than just sending and playing him another firstclass game Gambhir saidFor us it is important for a fast bowler to be fresh as well It is going to be a long tour it is going to be a fiveTest match series The bowling coach the physios and the trainers thought that he has had enough under his belt and that was one of the reasons he addedAlso ReadKeep him away from media Manjrekar deems Gambhirs demeanour unworthyWhile there is no Mohammed Shami and tremendous pressure on Jasprit Bumrah to carry the pace bowling load Gambhir feels that the attack is potent even with three inexperienced speedsters in Rana Prasidh Krishna and Akash DeepWe have got quality We have got tall guys who can hit the deck like Prasidh and Harshit All five guys have different skill sets That makes our fast bowling attack very very potent10 days of training good enoughGambhir who will be travelling with the second batch of Indian squad on Monday said adjusting to conditions in Australia over the next 10 days will be vital for the teamWe have got a lot of experienced players who have been to Australia a lot of times Their experience will come in handy for the young players as well These 10 days are going to be very crucial but come 22nd morning we should be absolutely ready to fire from ball one he saidWith agency inputs