KL Rahul (L) and Sarfaraz Khan (R) could be fighting for the same spot in India’s Test XI. (Image: AFP)
Weighing in on a possible selection call between KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan for India’s upcoming Test against Bangladesh, Parthiv Patel shares his two cents.
As Team India’s Test season is set to begin with the upcoming game against Bangladesh, the skipper Rohit Sharma could be forced to make a call between KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan for the Indian middle-order.
The former Indian cricketer, Parthiv Patel, shared his two cents for why the Karnataka-based batter could be the front-runner to take up a starting spot for the first Test against Bangladesh in Chennai.
“You have to look at KL Rahul’s performance in the last few years. He has been fantastic. He scored 100 in South Africa at Centurion. When he played that only Test match against England in Hyderabad, he scored runs. He has been around scoring runs consistently and had a very good World Cup as well,” Patel was quoted saying as per IANS in an interaction arranged by JioCinema.
The former Indian cricketer makes a very valid point that KL has been one that has showcased his class with the bat in the most challenging situations where the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have struggled as well. The century against South Africa at Centurion is one for the ages albeit coming in a losing cause.
But on the other hand, Sarfaraz Khan has also had his fair share of impressive knocks after making his debut during the England series where he scored 200 runs in the three games he featured at home scoring three half-centuries which certainly entertained the viewers.
“But having said that, Sarfaraz had a very good debut series, no doubt about it. As far as I am concerned, India would definitely start with KL Rahul. I don’t see a question there, but it’s good to see that India has that kind of competition amongst players for every position,” Parthiv commented.
Team India could likely go for a full-strength side and not look to experiment too much now that many senior stars are back in the squad. This means that Sarfaraz could be benched in place of Rahul while Jurel’s wicketkeeping position could be handed over to Rishabh Pant as well.
As the Test in Chennai is upon us, fans and experts alike would be keen to see Rohit Sharma’s approach for the match as it marks Gautam Gambhir’s first red-ball game as Head Coach of the side.
(with IANS Inputs)
