File photo of Sarfaraz Khan
The years of hard work paid off for Sarfaraz Khan as he earned his maiden Test call-up in the Indian team for the second match of the series against England. Sarfaraz, along with 2 other players, came into the team as a replacement after KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja sustained injuries. Just a day after seeing his name on the roster for the second Test in Vizag, Sarfaraz hit the ground at 6:30 AM to do some practice drills, highlighting his elite mindset.
Sarfaraz the ground to best prepare himself for the England assignment, although he does face competition from Rajat Patidar for a spot in the team. Here’s Sarfaraz’s Instagram story:
The selection committee Sarfaraz, left-arm spinner Sourabh Kumar, and all-rounder Washington Sundar to the squad for the second Test.
It is a maiden national call-up for Sarfaraz after scoring a truckload of runs in domestic cricket and more recently in the India A series against England Lions.
With Virat Kohli already unavailable for the first two Tests due to personal reasons, the injuries to Jadeja and Rahul have made matters worse for India, who find themselves under pressure after losing only their fourth Test at home since 2013.
Both Rahul and Jadeja had made significant contributions in the first Test before England staged a remarkable comeback to win the game by 28 runs and go 1-0 up in the five-match series. Jadeja snapped up five wickets and made 87 in the first innings while Rahul scored 86.
Jadeja’s all-round abilities are invaluable to the team. Off-spinner Sundar, who has shown a lot of promise in his four-Test old career, could replace Jadeja in the playing eleven. Ever since making his comeback from injury in the Asia Cup in September, Rahul has displayed stellar form in the ODI and Test format. Keeping wickets in the ODI World Cup and more recently in the Test series in South Africa added to his workload.
With PTI inputs
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