Shubman Gill vs KL Rahul - Who should open for India in Tests vs Australia

There have been a lot of talking points raised about India's Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad for the first two Tests. While the replacement of Rishabh Pant remains one of the major questions, another interesting debate is about who among Shubman Gill and KL Rahul will be Rohit Sharma's opening partner.

Gill and Rahul opened together for India in the Test series against Bangladesh as skipper Rohit was ruled out with a thumb injury. However, with the hosts having their full-time captain back at the top of the order, only one among Gill and Rahul may get a look into the playing XI.

On that note, let's take three factors into consideration while trying to understand who among the two will be India's first-choice opener alongside Rohit Sharma:

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#1 Gill vs Rahul: Who has a better recent form?

Shubman Gill grabbed his opportunity with both hands on the Bangladesh tour, smashing his maiden Test hundred in the first game at Chattogram. He looked at ease against the Bangladesh spinners and also didn't shy away from coming down the track and attacking them when an opportunity presented itself.

KL Rahul, on the other hand, had a Test series to forget as a batter. Although Rahul led India to a thrilling win in the second Test in Dhaka, he himself scored just 57 runs in the entire series at an appalling average of 14.25.

Gill has also added another hundred to his name in the recently-concluded ODIs against Sri Lanka and will definitely be high on confidence. On current form, the youngster seems to be the clear winner over the experienced Rahul.

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#2 Gill vs Rahul: Who has a better record in Indian conditions?

The conditions in the subcontinent are pretty different from those in other parts of the world and scoring runs in these conditions definitely requires a different skill set. So it is only fair to take a look at who among the two have done better in home conditions.

Gill has played 11 Test innings in India, scoring 263 runs at a modest average of 26.30. He has scored two half-centuries but has failed to convert them into big hundreds, something that is crucial to score big in the first innings in the subcontinent.

In this regard, Rahul has a much better performance at home and also a bigger sample size, showing that he has a much greater experience of these conditions. He averages 44.25 in 22 Test innings on home soil and also holds the average for the most consecutive half-centuries (7) that he hit against Australia in the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Having done well against the Aussies in similar conditions in the past is a huge factor that has helped Rahul pip Gill as far as experience at home is concerned.

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#3 Gill vs Rahul: Who has more backing from the team management?

Perhaps the biggest factor that goes in Rahul's favor is that he has been backed by the team management as the vice-captain of the Test side despite his recent form. Rahul captained India in Rohit's absence, proving the clarity that the team management has about his importance to the team.

Gill and Rohit did have some impressive partnerships during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under and also during the home series against England in 2021. He also opened with Rohit during the inaugural World Test Championship final.

However, Rohit and Rahul's success in England was one of the main reasons why the visitors could end up with a 2-1 lead during the summer of 2021. Rahul grabbed his chances with a hundred in England and then again in South Africa, making it almost impossible to drop him for such a huge home series.

After a brief analysis, it seems like Rahul will get the nod ahead of Gill as Rohit's opening partner during India's test series against Australia. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.