Sarfaraz Khan's wait for his Test debut only got extended as as Rajat Patidar was selected over him in India's playing XI for the second Test match against England in Vishakhapatnam on February 2, Friday. Following injuries to KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, both Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar were included in the Indian squad. Patidar was given the nod to fill Rahul's spot in the playing XI, while Kuldeep Yadav stepped in for Jadeja.
The decision to leave out Sarfaraz did not sit well with social media users, who voiced their dissatisfaction with the selection choice.
This is how the fans reacted:
The star Mumbai batter amassed 220 runs in three innings for India A against the England Lions riding on a match-winning knock of 161 runs off 160 balls.
Over the last few years, Sarfaraz has demonstrated outstanding form in domestic competitions, consistently positioning himself as a contender for selection in the Indian team, particularly for the Test squad. He emerged as the leading run-scorer in the 2022 Ranji Trophy season, amassing 982 runs, and also racked up 928 runs in the 2019/20 season.
Talking about the match, India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat first against England at the Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.
Meanwhile, the BCCI announced that Mohammed Siraj has been released from the Indian squad for the second Test match against England in Vizag.
"The decision was taken keeping in mind the duration of the series and the amount of cricket he has played in recent times. He will be available for selection for the third Test in Rajkot. Avesh Khan has re-joined the team for the 2nd Test," BCCI said in an official statement.
Rohit Sharma after the toss said,"We'll bat first. Looks a good pitch, the pitch will do its thing, we need to play good cricket. What happened in Hyderabad is history, we need to move on. We have spoken on things we need to do, now we need to execute on our plans. I thought we batted well in the first innings, but didn't have the same intent. Similarly, in the second innings with the bowl there was a brilliant knock by Ollie Pope. Injuries are part and parcel of the game, but that's why we have the guys sitting on the bench. Two forced changes - Jadeja and KL miss out, and Siraj has been rested. We've got Mukesh, Kuldeep and Rajat Patidar making his debut."
Meanwhile, England skipper Ben Stokes said,"Would have batted as well. It was a great last week, but we know India will come back hard. To come from behind like we did was very pleasing. We'll take the confidence from that, but new week now. It is an amazing atmosphere to play in for the boys. To get such an opportunity at the start of their career will do wonders for their confidence."
India's Playing XI
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav.
England's Playing XI:
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson.
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