The spot for the number three batsman, for India's upcoming tour of Australia, has not been decided as of yet.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) selection committee have a real dilemma up their hands, as the spot for the number three batsman, for India's upcoming tour of Australia, has not been decided as of yet.
The Indian team for the four Test series Down Under, would be picked on November 4, at the Wankhede Stadium, which means that the selectors will have to either opt for newbie, KL Rahul, or play it safe by including the experienced Virender Sehwag in the squad.
Gautam Gambhir's failure as number three batsman against England, has also cast doubts over India's batting ability to hold fort, in the wake of a top order collapse, a fact which may be playing on selector's minds as for now.
Coming to Rahul, and the young turk has everything going for him at the moment, thanks to his twin centuries for South Zone, in the Duleep Trophy final against Central Zone recently.
Despite South Zone losing the final, Rahul was adjudicated as Man of the Match, thanks to his knocks of 185 and 130, the former ton showing his technical acumen, and the latter displaying his hard hitting abilities.
Also the fact that Rahul has performed well for Karnataka and India 'A', in their respective Ranji Trophy and Australia sojourns, firmly puts the ball in his court ahead of Sehwag.
Moving on to Sehwag, and the veteran batsman, despite having a wealth of experience under his belt, has failed to fire in international as well as domestic matches in 2014.
And apart from his fast fading reflexes, Sehwag also has poor form stacked against him, in his quest to regain a spot in the Indian test team.
So it will be a minor miracle, if the Nawab form Najafgarh does manage to edge past younger competitors, and make the cut for Australia.
The last batsman in running for the spot, is Robin Uthappa, who has had a terrific IPL season, and also offers a reliable wicketkeeping option for India.
Apart from the number three spot, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina and Ambati Rayadu will slug it out to gain the sixth batsman's position, which will make for interesting watch, come November 4.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami,Ishant Sharma,Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron may form the bunch to lead India's bowling attack against Australia, with Pankaj Singh also being touted as a back-up for the main bowlers.
Amit Mishra, Karn Sharma can be the spinners included in the squad, whereas Wriddhiman Saha may back up MS Dhoni as wicketkeeper.
Naman Ojha's name has also been thrown in the mix, following his exploits for India 'A' against Australia recently.
India's Probable Test Squad: MS Dhoni (capt/wk), Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha/Naman Ojha, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron/Pankaj Singh/Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra
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