“They want experience in number 6 when we tour Australia” – Hanuma Vihari backs KL Rahul batting down the order in ongoing Bangladesh Tests

Indian batter Hanuma Vihari has backed KL Rahul’s batting position in the ongoing Test series against Bangladesh. In the opening Test match against the Tigers, the right-hander batted at number six but returned with scores of 16 and 22*.

Rahul meandered to 16 runs off 52 balls in the first essay as he could not find his A-game. Vihari said the Indian team management will want an experienced batter at number six on the upcoming tour of Australia and Rahul is apt for the role.

Meanwhile, Rahul scored 226 runs in three Test matches on the South Africa tour of 2021-22, including a match-winning knock of 123 runs at Centurion.

But despite playing 51 Test matches, Rahul hasn’t produced promising numbers as he has scored 2901 runs at an average of 34.13.

Hanuma Vihari said on Jio Cinema, “KL Rahul’s role will be important because he is someone who’s got the experience in playing in SENA countries and he can bat long. He has done well in SENA countries. I feel they are looking at KL Rahul at number 6 as well. By playing Rahul ahead of Sarfaraz in the current series (against Bangladesh), they are looking at a bigger picture. They want experience in number 6 when we tour Australia.”

Vihari, who has the experience of batting in tough Australian conditions, said one needs a good technique to bat on Australian shores.

“Because in Australia playing at 6 you need to have good technique whether it’s facing the second new ball or batting after an early collapse.”

Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara scored 521 runs in four Test matches against Australia on the 2018-19 tour whereas he scored 271 runs in four games on the previous tour. Vihari said Pujara will be a big miss in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar series.

“Pujara will be a big miss. he was the backbone of the batting line-up in the last two series for Team India. He took blows, he batted time, he stayed there for a long time, he saw the new ball, he got runs. He made the job easier for the other batters coming in. So that kind of role… who will play is a question mark for me. Currently I would say we have an attacking mode of a batting line up (the top six). All like to play their shots,” said Vihari.

The opening Test match between India and Australia will be played at Perth from November 22 onwards.