Openers in focus in warm-up tie

COLOMBO: India’s journey to becoming world No 1 in Tests over the last 18 months was filled with many positives. One area that doesn’t wear a settled look though is the opening combination.

Injury, and sometimes lack of form, led to frequent changes. It resulted in a musical chair of sorts where the onus of giving good starts fell on the shoulders of KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Gautam Gambhir and even Abhinav Mukund. It produced mixed results, with Rahul and Vijay being the standout performers.

As India gear up for a threeTest series against Sri Lanka with a warm-up game against President’s XI in Colombo on Friday, the focus will again be on the opening combination. The tour is just a precursor to a challenging period where India will visit South Africa, England and Australia in the next 18 months.

In the squad for the Sri Lanka Test series, Rahul is coming back after recovering from a shoulder injury while Dhawan was called as replacement for Vijay who was ruled out due to a wrist injury. Rohit’s hiatus too has been long. He returns to the Test squad after the series against New Zealand in October, 2016, having missed out on the series against England, Bangladesh and Australia.

The Mumbai batsman underwent a thigh surgery after suffering an injury during the ODI series against New Zealand. Although Sharma has not played a first-class game since recovery, he had featured in the Indian Premier League before the Champions Trophy where he amassed more than 300 runs.

Rahul, who had scored six fifties in seven innings in the Australia series, is also back in the squad after recuperating from a shoulder surgery that ruled him out of the IPL, the Champions Trophy and the West Indies series.

Both batsmen will look to make the most of the practice game to stake their claim in the playing XI in the first Test against Sri Lanka, starting July 26 at Galle. Like Sharma, Dhawan too last played a Test against New Zealand last year. He was dropped during the England series due to poor form and this tour of Sri Lanka should be another opportunity to make amends.

RAHUL, WHO HAD SCORED SIX FIFTIES IN SEVEN INNINGS VS AUSTRALIA, IS BACK AFTER A SURGERY