Rohit Sharma all but confirms place in batting XI for first Test match against Bangladesh

India captain Rohit Sharma has thrown himself behind the under-fire KL Rahul to put in a good performance in the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh. The latter lost his place in the team in the T20Is and failed to return with a good performance in the ODI series against Sri Lanka. With Rishabh Pant returning and Sarfaraz Khan doing well in the series against England, his place was under threat in the longest format of the game.

Also, Rahul missed four Tests against England at home earlier this year (after featuring in the first Test) due to injury, and Rohit emphasised that he had done well up until then. The 37-year-old also backed Rahul to do well in Test cricket in the near future. “We all know the quality of Rahul, he has the talent – it is important that we send a clear signal – since he came back, he scored a hundred in South Africa, 80-plus in Hyderabad and then unfortunately he got injured. KL Rahul has the quality to do well in Test cricket.

“I am sure he can grow and I don’t see any reason why he can’t succeed in Test cricket,” Rohit said. The India captain was also asked if he was relaxed about the bilateral series after finally breaking the ICC trophy curse earlier this year by winning the T20 World Cup. However, Rohit made it clear that this won’t happen as every series is important for the players.

“Every series is important, I don’t think there is any way around it. You’ve won one trophy so we can relax but that’s not our way – we have to win all the series we play,” Rohit added.