Former India wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik reckoned that India's young batters Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan will be part of India's squad in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024 which will be hosted by Australia later this year. Both Shubman and Sarfaraz last featured in a Test match was during England's tour of India.
Karthik said that Both Shubman and Sarfaraz will replace India Test veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane considering their performance in the Test series against England. Both Pujara and Rahane were India's backbone in the Test series against Australia on the last two occasions. Rahane was India's highest run-getter in the last edition of the World Test Championship Final against Australia.
“Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan. Both of those batters have done really well against England in the home series that recently happened at the start of the year. I have a feeling both of them will definitely be on that flight to Australia and will be trying to do their best. We will know if they’re able to replace both Ajinkya and Pujji (Pujara). Big shoes to fill, but they have the quality and calibre in them,” Karthik said on HeyCB with DK show on Cricbuzz.
Sarfaraz made his international debut during that series where he scored 200 runs in his three Test outings with a highest score of 68 not out. On the other hand, Gill made his Test debut in 2020 against Australia at Melbourne Cricket Stadium in Australia.
ALSO READ: Watch: Umpire left stunned as Pakistan's three slip fielders make a mess of simple catch to give second life to Bangladesh opener
ALSO READ: Benched RCB batter's 13-ball 44, Nair & Karthik's fifties lead Mysore Warriors to Maharaja Trophy title with 45-run win over Bengaluru Blasters
Gill has featured in 25 Test matches where he scored 1492 runs with the highest score of 128 including four centuries and six fifties. Team India will play two Test match series against Bangladesh and three Test match series against New Zealand before facing Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024.
How India qualify for WTC Final
India are currently on top in the WTC points table with 68.52% of the total points available to them so far (74 out of a maximum of 108 points from nine Tests). For the Rohit Sharma-led side to finish above 60% - they qualified for the final with 58.8 in 2023 - they need 63 points from the maximum of 120 on offer in these 10 Tests. (A win fetches 12 points and a draw four.) If the Men in Blue won five matches and a match ended up a draw without losing points for offences like a slow over rate then they will fetch 64 points which will keep them above 60%.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
