Young batters Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal will be in contention to make their debut in the third Test between India and England in Rajkot on Thursday, February 15.
Late entries for Sarfaraz and Padikkal
Both the batters couldn't make the cut for the original squad before being called up as injury replacements. Sarfaraz Khan was added to the squad before the second Test after Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul were ruled out of the game. He was retained for the third Test as well after the selectors dropped Shreyas Iyer from the squad, and Devdutt Paddikal was added for the third Test, replacing KL Rahul who was still injured.
Former Australia bowler Brad Hogg believes that Padikkal will get the nod ahead of Khan. He stated that India head coach Rahul Dravid will prefer Devdutt Padikkal because of his ability to bat at any position.
I think India will go for Padikkal: Hogg
“I think they will go for Padikkal (over Sarfaraz). He has scored a fine hundred against Tamil Nadu the other day. It was a brilliant innings. Coach Rahul Dravid is a big one (admirer) for top-order batters. You need to be able to bat in more than one position and that’s what Padikkal does,” said Brad Hogg on his YouTube channel.
Speaking about Sarfaraz Khan, Hogg said the batter has struggled against pace in the past, and it could go against him.
“We have seen Sarfaraz Khan have a bit of trouble with pace in the IPL. But if he has been working on it, Rahul Dravid has been having him in the nets facing Bumrah and handling him well then I would go with Sarfaraz Khan. But what I have seen outside of the little bubble, I will go with Padikkal. I know I have been harsh on Sarfaraz Khan there, but I love what Padikkal got to offer with a left-hander in that line-up,” he said.
The five-match Test series between India and England is currently level at 1-1. Both sides will aim to win the upcoming game and take the lead in the five-match series.
India’s updated squad for the third Test: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Devdutt Padikkal.
England's Playing XI for 3rd Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
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