The absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul from the second Test against England has opened up doors for the likes of Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar. The former was in contention for a long time but couldn’t break the door until the selectors called him to replace injured KL Rahul in the mix. Patidar, on the other hand, has also been in the reckoning for quite some time now but is yet to make his debut in Test cricket.
With Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer likely to retain their spot in the playing XI, the Indian team is currently looking to fill the number four spot. Both Sarfaraz and Patidar are in the reckoning as one of them is expected to make their debut in Vizag. Speaking about them, former cricketer Aakash Chopra stated that both cricketers are match-ready and should be considered for selection as they play well on spin-friendly pitches.
“Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan add lot a value. They play well in spin-friendly pitches and have scored a lot of runs in the Ranji Trophy. They are not coming from international white-ball cricket, which tends to weaken your defence. They are match ready and that is good news for India. They can put England’s spin bowling under pressure,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Notably, the Indian batters failed to put up a show against England spinners in the second innings of the first Test in Hyderabad. The middle order batters failed to provide stability as England spinner Tom Hartley wreaked havoc in the middle. He ended up picking up seven wickets in the second innings as the visitors won the match by 28 runs.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav is likely to replace injured Ravindra Jadeja in the playing XI, while team management might also consider playing Washington Sundar, who can give more depth to the batting unit.
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