With no KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli in the squad, the Indian selectors decided to call up Sarfaraz Khan for the second Test against England. While Kohli is missing from the first two Tests, Rahul and Jadeja were injury during the first game in Hyderabad.
The fans, cricket experts and former players were not expecting to see Sarfaraz in the team as he has been regularly ignored by the selectors. Harsha Bhogle reacted to his call up in the most brutal and honest way. Along with the Mumbai-based batter, Washington Sundar and Saurabh Kumar were also given a chance.
“Sarfaraz hasn’t just knocked on the door, he has beaten it down. And I first heard about Saurabh Kumar from an excited Rahul Sanghvi some years ago and am delighted to see his progress. India’s selection won’t be as clear cut as it was in Hyderabad,” Harsha Bhogle wrote on X.
“Do both Patidar and Sarfaraz play and India pick a 3rd spinner at the expense of Siraj? Or do India play Washington Sundar in a straight swap for Jadeja and choose between Patidar and Sarfaraz? If the pitch is like Hyderabad, I expect both batters to play and a 3rd spinner to replace a quick,” he further added.
Sarfaraz recently scored 161 runs off 160 balls for India A against England Lions. It was this innings which finally convinced Ajit Agarkar’s team that Khan belongs to big stage.
India’s squad for second Test against England
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Saurabh Kumar
