The Indian National Cricket Team’s plans for the first Test against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team have been revealed, and 26-year-old middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan is set to face yet another disappointment.
In the absence of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan got a chance to make his Test debut against England earlier this year. He made his debut memorable by scoring two quick fifties (62 and 68*). In the next Test, he failed (14 and 0) but bounced back strongly and scored a fifty (56) in the final Test.
He was expected to have almost secured his place in the India Test XI with the way he batted in his debut series. However, that is not the case, according to a PTI report.
Star batsman KL Rahul is all set to take Sarfaraz Khan’s place in the team. The Indian team management has reportedly been keeping an eye on the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy and in view of that, the more experienced KL Rahul will get the nod ahead of the flamboyant Sarfaraz Khan in the Bangladesh Tests.
A source from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) mentioned that KL Rahul was not dropped from the Test squad and was forced to miss the last four Test matches against England earlier this year due to injury. It is noteworthy that KL Rahul registered scores of 86 and 22 in the previous game he played in Hyderabad.
“For people from outside, they don’t understand how a team works and what the systems are in place. In his last three Test matches, KL scored a century in South Africa, one of the best Test knocks in recent times, and 86 in Hyderabad in the last Test he played before the injury.
“He has not been ruled out but he has picked up an injury. So, he is fit and available, he scored a fifty off Duleep, got game time and will start,” a BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Sarfaraz Khan has done everything right and that is important, if there is an injury somewhere he will just come in but… – BCCI Source
The source added that Sarfaraz Khan has done a great job for the Indian National Cricket Team in the few opportunities he has had and he will be the first to come into the starting XI in case of injury to any batsman. However, he will not be the starter.
“Sarfaraz has done everything right and if there is an injury anywhere, he will just come in but Rahul’s experience is irreplaceable. And the team management is not just looking at Bangladesh but Australia where previous experience matters,” the source added.
Much like the KL Rahul-Sarfaraz Khan debate, the team management will settle the Rishabh Pant-Dhruv Jurel debate by preferring the experienced Pant over Jurel to maintain continuity in the Test squad.
Meanwhile, the biggest competition for a place in the playing XI will be between Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav and the team management will have to decide whether they want batting depth with the inclusion of Axar Patel or the magic of Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI.
Meanwhile, the first Test of the IND-BAN series will be played from September 19 in Chennai, and the second Test will be played from September 27 in Kanpur.
