Fit KL Rahul set to open in Perth; Rohit Sharma to miss first Test as Bumrah handed captaincy
Perth, Nov 17: KL Rahul allayed concerns surrounding his fitness with an extended net session here on Sunday, indicating his readiness to open in the first Test against Australia as skipper Rohit Sharma will join the team only in Adelaide after spending time with his new-born baby.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will lead the team in Rohit's absence.
Rahul had left the field for medical attention on Friday after sustaining a blow on his elbow by pacer Prasidh Krishna while batting in an intra-squad practice match at the WACA ground.
The first of the five Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will begin at the Optus Stadium from November 22, while the second Test at Adelaide starts from December 6.
In all likelihood, the team management will pair Rahul with Yashasvi Jaiswal, and the 32-year-old's recovery has come as a massive relief after Shubman Gill was ruled out of the first Test with a fractured thumb.
Rahul batted without any major discomfort for a considerable time and participated in all the drills during the three-hour net session on this day.
"I had got a bad hit on Day 1 of the game. I am feeling good today, getting ready for the first game. Happy that I could come here early and get used to the conditions," Rahul said in a video shared by BCCI on X.
"Yeah, I got a lot of time to prepare for this series and I am excited and looking forward to it," he added.
In fact, head coach Gautam Gambhir too had indicated a promotion up the order for Rahul during the pre-departure press meet in Mumbai in the event of Rohit missing the opening Test.
Team Physio Kamlesh Jain said Rahul has responded well to the treatment.
"The key for us was to ensure that there is no fracture there. It's 48 hours since the impact and he has responded well to treatments. He should be ready to go," said Jain in the video.
Yogesh Parmar, the support physio, said the treatment was based on "controlling the pain."
"I took him for X-ray and scan and based upon the report I was more confident that he should be fine.
"It was a matter of controlling the pain and giving him some confidence. From a medical point of view, he is absolutely fine," said Parmar.
The Indian team, meanwhile, finished its block of training at the WACA ground and the visitors will now move to the Optus Stadium for match drills from Tuesday, after a scheduled rest day on Monday.
Devdutt, 3 pacers to stay back in Australia
Meanwhile, the Indian team management has decided to keep top-order batter Devdutt Padikkal in Australia as a batting back-up along with three seamers from the India A squad.
Devdutt was part of the India A squad that played two four-day matches against their Australian counterparts recently.
The left-hander, who was recently named in Karnataka's squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, had lukewarm outings during the 'A' tour, making 36, 88, 26, 1.
The three pacers are: Mukesh Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed and Navdeep Saini, who were all part of the India A squad.
Saini had also played at Sydney and Brisbane Tests during the last tour Down Under, till date his only two matches in the traditional format.
"It is more to do with the familiarity with the Australian conditions as they have played here recently," a source close to the development told PTI.
"Devdutt was highly impressive while facing Jasprit Bumrah at nets, and the management took that also into consideration," the source added.
The 24-year-old had made his Test debut against England earlier this year at Dharamsala and made a 65 while batting at No. 4.
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NITI Aayog's MMR blueprint a ploy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra: Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai, Nov 17: Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday alleged that the NITI Aayog's blueprint to develop the metropolitan region was a ploy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra by undermining the BMC's importance.
If voted to power, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will scrap the MoU signed between the World Economic Forum (WEF) and MMRDA as it is aimed at diminishing the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's importance, he said.
Addressing a rally at the BKC ground in Mumbai on the penultimate day before the campaigning for the assembly elections concluded, Thackeray said he wouldn't hesitate to disband the MMRDA (Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority) if it encroaches on the BMC's jurisdiction.
"A conspiracy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra is not just a loose talk but an impending serious crisis. The ploy is real but we will never allow this to happen," he said.
Thackeray said the MMRDA and WEF signed an agreement in September to develop MMR (Mumbai Metropolitan Region) as a global economic hub which was signed after Niti Aayog's report on MMR development.
"The Niti Aayog's blueprint diminishes the importance of the Mumbai civic body which is a ploy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra," he alleged.
Thackeray said the first decision of the MVA government will be to scrap policies of the (Mahayuti) government which handed over Mumbai's land to the Adani group.
The former chief minister said he was "not anti-development but is anti-destruction".
Thackeray claimed the MVA government headed by him was toppled (in June 2022) and Shiv Sena split because he had not allowed the looting of Maharashtra.
In an apparent reference to the Shiv Sena MLAs' disqualification case in the Supreme Court, saying, "The courts haven't given me justice. I seek justice from you for the sake of Maharashtra".
Thackeray said the BJP had to construct the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who had banned RSS, in Gujarat and seek votes in Maharashtra in Balasaheb Thackeray's name, which he said was "revenge of time".
Attacking PM Narendra Modi over the "Ek hai to Safe Hai" slogan, Thackeray said if people feel unsafe while Modi is at the helm then he should resign.
"Only corrupt and traitors feel safe when Modi is around," he alleged.
Thackeray said Maharashtra was facing a grave crisis as "airports, ports, electricity, mines, and schools are being handed over to Adani".
Urging people to support the MVA, Thackeray said Maharashtra will be destroyed if the Mahayuti returns to power.
Thackeray recalled Shiv Sena's support for the abrogation of Article 370 and Bal Thackeray sheltering Kashmiri pandits fleeing persecution.
"Amit Shah and Narendra Modi weren't known to the world at that time," he said.
Targeting the BJP over its poll campaign, he said the scrapping of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir doesn't impact Minimum Support Price, unemployment, and women's security in Maharashtra.
He said people of Gujarat should realise that Modi and Amit Shah have created a barrier between the western state and the rest of the country.
"How can they move projects from Maharashtra to Gujarat? You should stop them," he added.
