All of India and the cricketing world is gearing up for an exciting 5 match test series as in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle, India takes on Brendon McCullum management led England side in India starting 25th January 2024 in Hyderabad. The series which is already in talks as the Bazball vs Indian approach when cricket takes the centerstage, is now heating up due to the selection stint of the Indian squad for first 2 Test matches of the series.
To be played in Indian conditions, where the pitches are mostly conducive for spin attack , the Indian team selectors led by former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar , decided to form a team which comprises of four specialist spinners. However sparks and buzz grew further when in addition to already present KL Rahul selected KS Bharat and newbie Dhruv Jurel as three wicket keepers for the first two matches ignoring the likes of Ishan Kishan and ever performing star Ranji player from Mumbai Sarfaraz Khan .
After the loss to visitors by 28 runs to the visitors, The Indian team suffered various lashes from experts and media for not selecting players in the squad on the merit which led to his loss. With the 2nd test at Vizag in a few days time after the first test concluded and key players like Ravindra Jadeja out due to the hamstring injury and KL Rahul out due to the problems in the quadriceps after 1st Test, India roped in the likes of Sarfaraz Khan to their squad for the remainder of the series.
The Sarfaraz Khan exploits in Indian domestic circuit
As Sanju Samson has to be for India in white ball formats, Mumbai wicket keeper batter Sarfaraz Khan has been revolving in the Indian cricketing circuit and brewing in the media for quite a few time for non selection in the Indian test squad even after two stellar seasons with the red ball in the marquee Indian first class tournament The Ranji Trophy.
Talking about his performance, Sarfaraz has scored 556 runs in six games at an average of 92.66 in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy campaign with the help of three centuries. In the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy season, he had 982 runs at an average of 122.75. Overall, he has an average of 69.6 in First Class cricket. Earlier in December, the 26-year-old batter also smashed a century off 63 balls during India’s three-day intra-squad practice match in Pretoria. He played this knock against the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and Harshit Rana.
In addition to make his statement strong for selection, Mumbai-based batter Sarfaraz Khan once again made the headlines with his performance. Playing for India A in the ongoing two-day practice match against England Lions, Sarfaraz smashed 96 off 110 balls. His knock, which consisted of 11 boundaries and one six, came exactly after the day when India’s squad for the first two Tests against England was announced and he was once again overlooked for KS Bharat and Dhruv Jurel who scored 64 and 50 runs for India A.
Since 2008, the inception year of the IPL, approximately 50 players have represented India in Tests. But a trend began to unfold around the 2016-17 season where cricketers shot to the spotlight because of the IPL and were right away in the reckoning and players like Sarfaraz Khan who had a strong foothold in the longer format in domestic circuits were given a miss of an eye by the selectors edging them to prove themselves every time for the National Team selection.
However injuries to all rounder Ravindra Jadeja and star batter KL Rahul propelled the selectors to select the likes of Sarfaraz Khan who scored 160 ball 161 and Saurabh Kumar who took fifer in India A’s second unofficial test versus the England lions in the Indian squad as less time was remaining for the second test to commence at Vizag.
Now gotten a chance after serious performance in domestic circuits, Sarfaraz Khan is eager to continue his exploits at the highest level as well . However Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour considers it as a good dilemma for team management to choose between talents like Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan.
It will be a tough choice- Vikram Rathour on picking between rising stars Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan ahead of 2nd Test vs England.
Team India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour has said that picking one between Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar for the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam will be a tough choice. He added that the final call will be taken by captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid, keeping the conditions in mind.
Patidar was added to the squad for the first two Tests after Virat Kohli pulled out citing personal reasons. Sarfaraz, meanwhile, earned his maiden call-up to the national side after KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were ruled out of the second Test due to injury.
In the press conference ahead of the second Test, which starts on Friday, February 2, Rathour shared his thoughts on the Sarfaraz vs Patidar debate.
“It will be a tough choice. What value they bring to the team, of course, is that they are superb players. We have seen how well they have done in domestic cricket in the last few years,” Rathour was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
“So on these kinds of wickets, I think they can really add a lot of value to the team. If we have to pick just one out of them, of course, it would be tough. But, that decision will be made by Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma. The playing XI will be finalized keeping in mind the conditions,” he added.
Sarfaraz Khan has scored 3,912 runs in 45 first-class games at an average of 69.85, with 14 hundreds and 11 fifties. Meanwhile, Patidar has 4,000 runs to his name from 55 first-class games at an average of 45.97, with 12 hundreds and 22 fifties.
Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour on pitch conditions in Vizag.
The surface for the second Test has been a matter of intrigue after England spinners outplayed their Indian counterparts on a slow turner in Hyderabad.
Rathour reckons there will be spin on offer in Visakhapatnam but hinted that the surface might not be a rank turner.
“It (pitch) is difficult to predict. It will turn, maybe not from the first day, but eventually, it will turn. That’s how the wicket looks like,” the Indian batting coach commented.
The former player also downplayed the role of coaching at the international level, elaborating that it’s more about players adapting and responding to situations.
“Once you come to this level, I don’t think you require too much coaching. It’s about reading the situations and making smarter decisions. As long as they are asking the right questions and receiving the right answers, there is no chance of over-coaching,” the former opener concluded.
India are 1-0 down in the five-match series, having lost the Hyderabad Test by 28 runs after squandering a 190-run first-innings lead. And it would be interesting how the new look Indian Team will bounce back with inclusions of youngster like Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar in the squad.