Matthew Hayden names a like-for-like replacement of Virat Kohli in Tests

The Indian squad is prepared to take on England in the five-match Test series. Shubman Gill and Karun Nair are the front-runners to take Virat Kohli's place at number four in the forthcoming five-game tour, but it is still unclear who would play there even after the lineups are announced. Former Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden has selected KL Rahul as one of the contenders to bat at the position.

The number four spot has been occupied by some of India's most famous cricket players, such as Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar. Rahul might bat first with Yashasvi Jaiswal, depending on the makeup of the team. However, Hayden thinks the 33-year-old might be a perfect like-for-like replacement for Virat at number four. The former opener also gave his reasoning for not opening with Jaiswal, especially in England, in his opinion as a Karnataka batsman.

“I only have one more item to address. KL Rahul is going to open. I’ll just make that call. My issue with this is that I believe he is your best Test cricket player. He may be a like-for-like replacement for Virat Kohli, tailor-made at No. 4,” Hayden told Star Sports.

“The reason I don’t like him as an opener, and we saw this in Australia, is that he gets out 57% of the time caught behind or nicked off. So he looks so technically sound, it’s beautiful, and then he’s out,” he added.

KL Rahul asked the BCCI to send him to England early so he could get used to the circumstances and play for the A team against the England Lions in the second unofficial Test, in contrast to the Indian squad players. After starting the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal and shifting Abhimanyu Easwaran to number three, the right-hander returned the favour with a spectacular 116.

Rahul is the team's most experienced batter heading into the series against England after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from Test cricket last month. The Indian team management has a serious headache about what the Indian playing XI would look like because of Rahul's ton.

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