India bowling coach Morne Morkel has backed KL Rahul to play a key role in the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, praising his experience and ability to help younger players understand and adapt to the conditions.
India will face Sri Lanka in the first Test of the two-match series from Aug 15 at the Galle International Stadium.
Rahul is the only batter from India’s 2017 touring squad who remains in the current team and Morkel believes his experience will be important for India in Galle.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Morkel praised Rahul’s recent form and highlighted his communication skills. He said Rahul can guide the younger players during net sessions and help them understand the conditions.
He also explained that India’s decision to arrive 10 days early gave the players enough time to prepare their individual plans.
“KL, the last couple of years, the way he’s been leading up front with the batting has been exceptional, and that’s a sort of communication that we expect him to speak to the guys here in the preparation at the nets and about what to expect. But I think, our guys have learned a lot about their games individually over the last couple of months and that’s one of the reasons why we’ve come out here 10 days earlier to give the guys the best opportunity to prepare to work on their individual game plans and individual game plans, and yeah, just to figure out how they’re going to score on the surface here,” Morkel said.
Morkel also suggested that India could consider playing three spinners because of the conditions in Galle. He said India’s spin attack gives them an attacking option, while the seamers can create pressure from the other end.
“I think, traditionally, you look at the venue, the stats, and how that’s been played up. That’s a sort of the way to go. I think, the way that we go with our spin bowling attack, our spinners, it’s a very attacking option. And then you can sort of create pressure with seam from one side and always allow yourself with spin to operate from a, from another end,” Morkel said.
Morkel felt the Galle pitch looked good at the start but could change as the match progresses. He said India are prepared for different challenges and will need to stay mentally strong, bat for long periods and bowl consistently.
“But looking at the surface for me, it looked like a good surface, and I think as the Test match will go on, something will start to happen. But for us, we’ve prepared basically for all that can come our way. And for us, it’s more about the mental challenge now facing these conditions, batting time, bowling those spells, and getting the ball in the right area,” he added.
India began their Sri Lanka tour on a positive note, defeating Sri Lanka Cricket XI by six wickets in their three-day warm-up match. Devdutt Padikkal starred with an unbeaten 142.
India’s Test squad: Shubman Gill (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi and Sarfaraz Khan