There were multiple reports over the past few days over DevDutt Padikkal making his Test debut in the fifth and final Test at Dharamsala in place of under-performing Rajat Patidar. But, the latest is that the team will give Rajat Patidar another chance to prove himself which means he would feature in the final Test and Padikkal would have to wait. With reports suggesting Patidar will not be playing the fifth Test, one was surprised to see him not being released from the side to go an play the Ranji semis.
Rajat Patidar has played three Test matches during the series and has scores of 32, 9, 5, 0, 17 and 0. Patidar’s place was under scrutiny after the fourth Test match in Ranchi which India won by 5 wickets to take an unassailable 3-1 lead. .
Rajat Patidar’s form in test series versus England
Patidar, on the other hand, has played the second, third and fourth Test matches in the ongoing five-match series against England and only managed scores of 32, 9, 5, 0, 17 and 0. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter was named in the Test squad as a replacement for middle-order mainstay Virat Kohli, who has taken a break due to personal reasons.
KL Rahul’s quadricep injury led to Patidar making his debut in the second Test at Visakhapatnam, and had Rahul been fully fit for the Dharamsala Test, Patidar would have been released from the India squad to represent Madhya Pradesh in their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Vidarbha.
The continued unavailability of KL Rahul means that a middle-order spot is to be decided between Patidar and Karnataka top-order batter Devdutt Padikkal, but the team management feels otherwise as Rajat had entered Team India on basis of strong performances for India A slamming centuries vs the England Lions. However he failed to replicate the same in the 3 test innings which he has played .
This means Padikkal will have to wait for his Test debut. The 23-year-old southpaw played two T20Is in 2021 against Sri Lanka, and has not been in India colors since. India leads the test series 3-1 and wish to go with the same squad with minor changes in the fifth test at Dharamshala. Former Indian player now commentator Aakash Chopra feels that Rajat Patidar deserves atleast one more chance before his fallout from Team India .
Rajat Patidar has not taken to Test cricket as fish to water but….- Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra believes that Team India’s middle-order batter Rajat Patidar won’t face the axe in the upcoming fifth and final Test of the ongoing home series against England. The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that since India have already clinched the series, the team management could give Patidar one more chance to prove his worth at the highest level.
Patidar has failed to translate his red-hot domestic cricket form into international cricket. The right-handed batter made his Test debut during the second fixture of the England Test series. He has mustered just 63 runs across six innings at an average of 10.5.
Taking to the microblogging platform X, Chopra wrote:
“The last thing you want as a cricketer is that your bad form coincides with team’s poor returns. The moment that happens…you’re the first one to take the fall. Rajat’s not taken to Test cricket as fish to water but since India’s won the series already, he might get one final game at Dharamsala.”
India gained an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series following their five-wicket victory in the recently concluded fourth Test in Ranchi. The fifth and final Test will be played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala from March 7 to 11and India would believe Rajat Patidar to come good in what could be his final appearance for the time being in the test circuit for India at highest level.