‘That is where questions will..’: Dinesh Karthik’s big warning for India star ahead of Australia series

Dinesh Karthik, a seasoned Indian wicketkeeper-batter, believes that KL Rahul’s position as opener would provide India with significant problems during the Test series against Australia in February and March. In addition, he said that if Ravindra Jadeja is fit, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel may be evenly matched for the third spinner’s position.

In the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, Rahul captained India. Rahul had a disappointing series with the bat despite the visitors winning by a margin of 2-0. Scores of 22, 23, 10, and 2 were recorded by the 30-year-old. He had a mixed ODI series prior to it. He scored 73 in the first game and then added 14 and 8 in the two that followed.

India’s next Test series will be a four-match home series against Australia. The hosts must win convincingly to remain in contention for a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Karthik told Cricbuzz about his thoughts on the huge Test series:

“There are two big questions when we play Australia. Are you going to be happy with KL Rahul as opener? Who are you going to choose between Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel as the third spinner? These are tough questions to answer, but they need to be answered,” he said.

In Rohit Sharma’s absence, Rahul and Shubman Gill began the innings in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, when India chose to go with an additional pacer in the Dhaka Test, Axar was picked over Kuldeep as the second spinner.

When asked what bothers Rahul, Karthik remarked that the batsman did not appear to be playing with a clear mind and opined: “Giving him an opportunity against Australia should ideally get the best out of him. But he definitely needs to be more free in his mind and that will come with some success in white-ball cricket. If he does well in the ODIs, that will keep him in good stead.”

Before facing Australia in Test matches, India will play white-ball series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand at home.

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