Follow UsWith KL Rahul out of the second Test in Visakhapatnam due to an injury, it paves the way for one of Sarfaraz Khan or Rajat Patidar to make their Test debuts. Both of them have terrific first-class records and have been in top form in the recent past. While Patidar has slammed over 4,000 runs at an average of 45.97, Sarfaraz boasts of 3,912 runs at an average of nearly 70.
Batting coach Vikram Rathour believes the two will certainly add value to the team, given that they have excelled on Indian wickets.
"It will be a tough choice. What value they bring to the team, of course, is that they are super players. We have seen how well they have done in domestic cricket in the last few years," Rathour said ahead of the second Test.
"So on these kind of wickets, I think they can really add a lot of value to the team. If you have to pick one, it’s, of course, going to be tough. But that’s a decision I think Rahul and Rohit Sharma will have to make in a day or so."
Rathour has also backed Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer to get back among the runs. Iyer has scored just 131 from his last 10 Test innings at an average of 14.55, while Gill has hit just one score in excess of 50 in his last 14 innings. Safe to say, there will be a lot of pressure on both batters when they take the field on Friday (February 2).
There are young batters in our team who have not played much Test cricket. So, we need to be a bit patient with them. Batters like Gill, [Yashasvi] Jaiswal and Iyer will eventually start getting big runs, I'm sure of it," Rathour said
England lead the five-match series 1-0 after a brilliant 28-run win in the first Test in Hyderabad. The action now shifts to Visakhapatnam, where both sides will be forced to make changes due to injuries.