After it has been confirmed that KL Rahul will miss the first Test of the series against Sri Lanka due to fever, it can be assumed that in all likeliness Shikhar Dhawan will replace the right-handed batsman in the playing XI. Dhawan was called in the team as a replacement of Murali Vay, who complained about pain in his wrist during a league match.

(Read Here: KL Rahul To Miss Galle Test)

Team India already has an opener in the form of Abhinav Mukund and it will be Dhawan who will open the innings with him. It will be an opportunity for both the left-handed batsmen to perform well and press a case for a place in playing XI for the next game, as KL Rahul will walk in the side whenever he will be fit and one out of these two have to vacate a place for him.

The batsman who will score more runs will sustain his place and the other man will go out. In fact, this is a match for survival for them, as when Murali Vijay will also walk in the team whenever deemed fit. They have a competition among themselves to sustain a place as a backup opener in the long run when Indian team travels for foreign Test tours in upcoming months.

(Read Here: KL Rahul Didn’t Travel With The Team To Galle)

Meanwhile, Rahul’s absence in this game is a big news, as he was making his comeback to the team after a long time. Though he played the series against Australia but was in pain during the matches. As a result, he went onto miss the IPL, the ICC Champions Trophy and Windies tour as well. Rahul was expected to come and perform so as to make a comeback in limited over series as well but it looks like he needs some more time and the rest, as the first Test will give him ample space to acclimatise to the conditions in Sri Lanka, where India is scheduled to play a full-fledged series after 2008.

The first Test of the three Test series will commence from July 26, Wednesday at Galle.