Indian captain Rohit Sharma has settled the opening debate. He has confirmed that KL Rahul will stick to the opening position and he'll bat at the middle order.

Rohit Sharma didn’t play the first match of Border-Gavaskar Trophy, as he was on paternity leave. KL Rahul played in absence of the Indian captain and showcased a lot class in the second innings in Perth, scoring a crucial 77 off 176 deliveries and stitching a marathon over 200-run opening partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

After Rahul's superb knock in Perth, debates came over on who will open along with Jaiswal. But Rohit said he'll go back down to the middle order, and sticking to the winning combination at the top.

Speaking to the reporters on Thursday, Rohit said:

“KL will open (in Adelaide). The way he batted and his partnership with Jaiswal was instrumental in that first test win.”

“The way he has batted outside India, he deserves it. I will bat somewhere in the middle. It was a fairly simple decision. Personally, it wasn’t easy but for the team, it was an easy decision to make,” he said.

"I was at home with my newborn in my arms, and I was watching how KL batted,” Rohit said.

“It was brilliant to watch. I felt that there's no need to change that now. Maybe in the future, things will be different. I don't know. Based on what has happened and what KL Rahul has shown outside of India, he probably deserves that place at this point in time. It is something that has brought us success in the first Test.”

Australia have made one change to their XI as Scott Boland has made a comeback to replace injured Josh Hazlewood. India is yet to announce their XI for the second Test in Adelaide, which commences from Friday (December 6).