Not many teams dare to leave out a player who scores a triple century and that too as the only second batsman of the country. But such was their confidence and bench strength that India are likely to drop Karun Nair in favour of Ajinkya Rahane who recovered from the injury to gain his match fitness.
Ahead of the first Test at home against Bangladesh, there was curious question whether Nair who replaced injured Rahane during the series against England, could become regular at the top order. Kohli’s answer was not straightforward but he gave enough indication who would be their choice today at the playing XI.
“See, I feel one game doesn’t overshadow two years of hard work from another player. You have to understand that Ajinkya Rahane has done for the team over the last two years. He averages almost 50 in the last two years and he is probably the most solid batsman in the team in the Test format. We will look at him from that point of view certainly,” he said.
“Karun was stepping into his shoes what he did was remarkable. Sealing a spot as far as the squad is concerned – that’ what Karun did. But you can’t overlook two years of hard work from Ajinkya with just one Test match. He deserves to walk back into the team whenever he is fit.”
If India decide to go with six batsmen, in that case both Rahane and Nair could be fit into the playing XI but that is highly unlikely given Kohli’s preference for five batsmen, five bowlers and one wicket-keeper theory.
“You need to back players for a long time for them to become match-winners eventually. So it’s very important to back guys when they are injured and come back, who have been a regular feature in your playing XI. They need to be given a chance as soon as they come back.”