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Rajat Patidar's inclusion in India's squad as Virat Kohli's replacement for the first two Test against England didn't sit well with India's bowling legend Anil Kumble. As India and England are playing their first Test on January 25 in Hyderabad, former India captain Kumble has suggested that Shreyas Iyer would be a more suitable replacement for Virat Kohli than the top-order batter Rajat Patidar, despite star batter's recent exploits for India A in the ongoing unofficial Tests against the England Lions.
Kumble did acknowledge Patidar's commendable performance in challenging circumstances when India A required him to deliver at number 3. In the first match, Patidar scored 111 runs as an opener alongside captain Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Patidar's innings was marked by a blend of classic cricket shots and flamboyant strokes against a competent England Lions team, somewhat embodying the aggressive 'Bazball' philosophy. The first match ended in a draw after two innings. In the second match in Ahmedabad (the first unofficial Test), Patidar hit an impressive 151-run innings, mirroring England's aggressive approach, which contributed to India A's total of 553 runs before declaring.
Despite Patidar's impressive show in the domestic circuit, his centurion knock against England Lions wasn't enough to narrow the gap with the opponent's total as the match ended in a draw. However, his scores of 111 and 151 proved his readiness for an international Test match at the age of 30. With Kohli stepping out of the first two Tests in Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam, the Rahul Dravid-led Indian management decided to rope in Patidar to step in for his RCB teammate. India had other options besides Patidar, like Sarfaraz Khan and Sai Sudharsan, but Dravid and Rohit Sharma saw Patidar as the most suitable and direct replacement for Kohli. Kohli is set to aim for completing 9000 Test runs starting from the third Test in Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamsala.
Meanwhile, Kumble, the only Indian bowler to achieve 600 wickets in Tests, opined that despite Patidar's commendable performance in the unofficial matches, middle-order specialist Shreyas would likely start ahead of him.
Kumble predicted Iyer to play at number 5, following KL Rahul.
“Certainly, he’s (Rajat Patidar) done well over the years. It’s wonderful to see a young player come back. In England Lions’ game, when the team was in trouble, he came in and scored a brilliant hundred. He’s been rewarded by the selectors as a replacement. But I doubt whether he will play,” Kumble said, as quoted by Cricketaddictor.
“My sense would be that Shreyas (Iyer), now the team management has clearly stated that (KL) Rahul will not be keeping wickets, I am assuming that it’ll be Shreyas at No. 4, then No. 5 would be KL Rahul, (at) No. 6 (KS) Bharat and then the all-rounders. So I feel that would be the approach,” he added.
Meanwhile India were put to bat first in their opening Test against England on January 25 in Hyderabad. India skipper Rohit Sharma played a combination of three spinners and two pacers in the opening Test against England. However, he dropped Kuldeep Yadav to accomodate Axar Patel in India's playing XI.
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