Rahul will come in place of Baba Indrajith, who scored 9 and 6 and didn't look comfortable at all against pace and bounce, which wasn't exactly 125 clicks.
Also the temperament of playing 373 balls (62.1 overs out of 116 overs) has made him stand out along with how he forged partnership with a tailender (Navdeep Saini).
Rishabh Pant last played a Test match in December 2022 before a serious car crash saw him sidelined for nearly two years.
How the India Test regulars and discards fared over the first two days in the opening round matches of Duleep Trophy.
Premier middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, wicket-keeper Dhruv Jurel and pacer Yash Dayal are set to be released from the Indian team for the Irani Cup in case they are not selected in the playing XI for the second Test against Bangladesh, starting September 27 in Kanpur.
The new-look Indian team to be captained by Shubman Gill departed for their upcoming tour for Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
With the series locked at 1-1, Brisbane could well decide the course of the rubber and whether Rohit's men would continue to be the master of their fate in the ongoing World Test Championship.
Axar Patel will lead Delhi Capitals against Royal Challengers Bengaluru after the suspension of regular captain Rishabh Pant.
Rinku, who has enjoyed a fair amount of net practice, will accompany the team because of his dual utility -- he is a finisher in the middle-order and can replace anyone who gets injured in that slot.
India, who have returned victorious in both their previous Test assignments Down Under with identical margins of 2-1, will take on the world No.1 Australia in a five-Test series starting on November 22.
Images from the IPL match between Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals in Lucknow on Friday.
With head coach Rahul Dravid watching on, Kuldeep was bowling to an imaginary field against Rohit, who was beaten by the left-armer at the start of the session.
Green pocketed just one wicket, but his tight overs put the necessary pressure on the DC scoreboard as the match slipped away from the visitors.
Rinku Singh picked for second round as top stars leave for Test series against Bangladesh. Mayank Agarwal has been named as India A captain in Gill's place.
India's T20 World Cup campaign begins on June 5 against Ireland at the newly-constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. India play Pakistan on June 9.
Did you enjoy Maheesh Patheerana's fiery yorkers?
While the pace department needs some urgent solutions, the spin has a slightly different landscape.
The outings of Abhimanyu Easwaran, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prasidh Krishna will be the primary focal points of India A's four-day match against their Australian counterparts
The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag and Rinku Singh will get another opportunity to enhance their red-ball credentials when the final round of Duleep Trophy matches begin in Anantapur
Ben Stokes is notably absent from the list of 1,574 players who have registered for the IPL 2025 mega auction, scheduled for November 24 and 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
However, Rana can take a slice of comfort as he completed a four-wicket haul in the opening session of the day to bowl out India A for 290 in their first dig.
Yashasvi Jaiswal struck a superb 93 from 53 balls to guide India to a 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe
Karn Sharma's brilliant effort in the field saw Axar Patel's strong knock come to an end.
Rasikh Salam Dar emerged as Delhi Capitals' hero with the ball, with excellent figures of 3/34.
The Capitals have been inconsistent so far, winning five and losing six of their last 11 games.
The three players will travel back home to India with the rest of the T20 World Cup winning squad.
Suryakumar Yadav will miss the first round match after suffering a a sprain to his right thumb.
India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was ruled out of the upcoming Duleep Trophy because of illness.
The 15-member squad of the Indian team which won the T20 World Cup will take home Rs 5 crore each.
The Mumbai batter lit the Chinnaswamy stadium with his brilliant batting.
Rohit Sharma, while facing left-arm throwdown specialist Nuwan Seneviratne, got hit on his left thumb by a delivery that lifted from the back of a good length area.
In the absence of national regulars, the focus will shift on the likes of Rinku, who was surprisingly not picked for the first round despite having an impressive first-class record.
India's T20 World Cup campaign begins on June 5 against Ireland at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.
During Monday's net session, Bumrah repeatedly made short work of the batter often sending his off-stump cart-wheeling for fun
If one looks at selection pattern, Jurel was the second keeper behind Sanju Samson for this series and Jitesh was a late entrant because of the unavailability of the World Cup squad members.
India's batting is a major concern with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli struggling for runs ahead of the tour of Australia.
A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday.
In a surprising move, KKR's batting sensation Rinku Singh was not picked in the 15-member squad.
The pace trio of Yash Dayal, Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini did the damage with the ball as India B outclassed India A by 76 runs in the Duleep Trophy.
IMAGES from the 1st T20I between Zimbabwe and India played in Harare on Saturday