Rajat Patidar debuts for India in second Test as Sarfaraz Khan misses out

In the second Test against England, which commenced on Friday at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, India introduced Rajat Patidar in their Playing XI. Despite winning the toss and choosing to bat, Rohit Sharma made three alterations to India's playing XI from the Hyderabad Test, though Sarfaraz Khan was denied a debut opportunity.

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India made three changes for the match, replacing KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Mohammed Siraj with Rajat Patidar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mukesh Kumar. Captain Rohit Sharma announced at the toss that Siraj was rested, while Rahul and Jadeja were sidelined due to injuries. Former cricketer and legendary pacer Zaheer Khan presented Patidar with his debut cap.

Patidar earns his place in the XI following impressive performances, notably scoring centuries against England Lions in a Tour match and the first Unofficial Test. He notched 111 in the tour game and followed it up with a remarkable 151 in the unofficial Test. Accumulating 4000 runs in 55 first-class games, the right-handed batter has showcased his prowess in his career so far.

Rajat Patidar gets a chance ahead of Sarfaraz Khan in the second Test

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While Patidar boasts an impressive first-class average of 45.97, Sarfaraz has been even more remarkable, averaging a staggering 69.85 in the same format. His recent performances have demonstrated unmatched consistency, with 3912 runs amassed from 45 first-class appearances in his burgeoning career.

Significantly, the 30-year-old faces a challenging task in his debut, stepping into the shoes of KL Rahul. Rahul, who scored 86 runs in the first innings of the Hyderabad Test, was sidelined from the second Test due to a right quadriceps injury. Patidar aims to seize the opportunity and compel the team management to make a tough decision once Rahul recovers and returns to contention.

Apart from this, Kuldeep Yadav as well as Mukesh Kumar were included in the squad in place of Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Siraj. In addition, it was announced that Siraj was released to ease his workload and is expected to return for the third Test. Avesh Khan has been called up to the Indian squad as a replacement.