K L Rahul or Abhimanyu Easwaran will open the batting for India if captain Rohit Sharma is not available for the first Test against Australia in Perth, starting on November 22, said India head coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday.
"Obviously, there is Easwaran, there is K L there (in Australia). We will take a call closer to the first Test match if Rohit is not available," Gambhir said.
"There are options there. It is not that there are no options. There are quite a lot of options in this spot. Once it gets closer to the first Test match, we will try and play the best playing XI who is going to do the job for us," he added.
The India coach revealed that there is no confirmation yet of whether Rohit will play in the Perth Test. The India captain is likely to miss the series opener due to persona reasons.
"Look at the moment there is no confirmation. We will let you know what the situation will be exactly. Hopefully he will be available, but everything we will get to know before the start of the series."
He threw his weight behind the struggling Rahul, who failed in both innings (4 and 10) of India A's practice match against Australia A in Melbourne. He had also managed to score just 12 runs in two innings against New Zealand in the Bengaluru Test recently.
"There are times when you go with the experienced players as well, I think and that is the quality of a man that he (Rahul) can actually bat at the top of the order, he can bat at number 3 and he can actually bat at number 6 as well," said the former southpaw.
"So you need quite a lot of talent to be doing these kind of jobs as well and he has kept wickets in one day format as well. So imagine how many countries have players like KL who can actually open the batting and can bat at number 6 as well?
So I feel that if needed be, I think he (Rahul) can do the job for us, especially if Rohit is not available for the first Test match," Gambhir said.
He also confirmed vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah will take over the captaincy if Rohit is not available.
"Bumrah is the vice-captain, so obviously he will (lead the team). If Rohit is not available, he is going to lead in Perth."
He also threw his weight behind uncapped all-rounder Nitish Rana, who he believes can do the job both with bat and ball.
Shardul Thakur was one of India's heroes at the Gabba with wickets and a half-century and has been seamer all-rounder in conditions like Australia, England and South Africa.
"We have picked the best squad who can do the job for us. Nitish Reddy, we all know that how incredibly talented he is and if given an option, he will deliver for us," Gambhir said of the Andhra player.
Gambhir, who will be travelling with the second batch of Indian squad on Monday, said adjusting to conditions in Australia over the next 10 days will be vital for the team.
"We have got a lot of experienced players who have been to Australia a lot many times. Their experience will come in handy for the young players as well. These 10 days are going to be very crucial but come 22nd morning, we should be absolutely ready and ready to fire from ball one," he said.
While there is no Mohammed Shami and tremendous pressure on Jasprit Bumrah to carry the pace bowling load, Gambhir feels that the attack is potent even with three inexperienced speedsters in Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Akash Deep.
"We have got quality. We have got tall guys who can hit the deck like Prasidh and Harshit. All five guys have different skill sets. That makes our fast bowling attack very very potent."
