India Vs England: Sarfaraz Khan Compels Selectors To Pick Him As Jadeja, Rahul Sit Out

The BCCI selection committee has picked up in-form Mumbai batsman Sarfaraz Khan for the second test between India and England starting in Visakhapatnam on February 2.

The decision comes after Left-arm spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and middle-order batter K.L Rahul have been ruled out of India¡¯s second Test.

The Men's Selection Committee have added Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar to India's squad.#INDvENG https://t.co/xgxI8NsxpV

¡ª BCCI (@BCCI) January 29, 2024

Left-arm spinner Sourabh Kumar and off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar were also picked for Visakhapatnam Test.

BCCL

Jadeja sustained hamstring injury

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement that Jadeja sustained a hamstring injury during batting in India¡¯s chase of 231 on the fourth day of the first Test in Hyderabad while Rahul complained of a right quadriceps pain, with the medical team monitoring the progress of the duo.

BCCI also said Saransh Jain has been named as a replacement for Sundar in the India A squad for the third and final multi-day game against England Lions starting February 1 in Ahmedabad, while fast-bowler Avesh Khan will continue to travel with his Ranji Trophy team Madhya Pradesh and will join the Test squad if required.

India¡¯s next Test match against England will be held at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on February 2. The hosts¡¯ are 1-0 behind in the five-game series after losing the opening match at Hyderabad by 28 runs.

Finally, Sarfaraz to wear national jersey

Sarfaraz Khan has been piling up runs in the Ranjhi Trophy tournaments for the past few seasons. The 25-year-old Mumbai Right-hander has got the support from former cricketers, however, the selectors were ignoring him so far.

He scored 928 runs in the 2019-20 season at an impressive average of 154, the second-highest in the history of the tournament. He followed this outstanding performance with another stellar display in the 2021¨C22 Ranji season, accumulating 982 runs at an average of 122.75, which included four centuries. In the 2022¨C23 Ranji Trophy, Sarfaraz notched up 556 runs in six games with the aid of three centuries, maintaining an average of 92.66. Overall, in 37 first-class matches, Sarfaraz has amassed 3,505 runs at an impressive average of 79.65, featuring 13 centuries.

Last year, Sunil Gavaskar flayed the selectors for not picking Khan in the national squad. Gavaskar, in reference to Sarfaraz¡¯s non-selection, questioned the reason behind holding the Ranji Trophy if player performance in the nation¡¯s top domestic competition is not taken into account when selecting the Indian red-ball teams, rather they are selected as per performance in the IPL.

"Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons. What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team," Gavaskar told Sports Today.

India's squad for the second test

India's updated squad for the 2nd Test against England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar.

With PTI Inputs