 "Rajat Patidar and Kuldeep Yadav")
Team India has added Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar, and Washington Sundar to the squad for the second Test against England in Vizag. However, it is Rajat Patidar and Kuldeep Yadav, who are likely to replace injured KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian playing 11, who have been ruled out of the match starting Friday, February 2.
India’s playing 11 for the 2nd Test vs England
Since Rahul is out with quadriceps pain and Jadeja pulled his hamstring, their places in the playing 11 would be vacated and Rajat Patidar, who replaced Virat Kohli in the Indian squad ahead of the first Test, will most likely get a go-ahead over Sarfaraz in Rahul’s place. Kuldeep Yadav, who has been the pannier in waiting because all three slots have been booked, will in all likelihood play in place of Ravindra Jadeja.
India’s probable playing 11 vs England Vizag Test
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill / Sarfaraz Khan, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
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Why Patidar will replace Rahul in India playing 11?
Patidar was chosen in the Indian team as Kohli's replacement which directly means that the team management sees him as the number four player in Tests. Since Rahul played at number four, Patidar will be the first contender for that spot. The Madhya Pradesh batter scored consecutive hundreds against the England Lions in a two-day practice game as well as a four-day First-Class match. In the latter, he smashed 151.
The 30-year-old has been a run-machine in domestic cricket and has no fitness issues like Sarfaraz. In 55 matches, Patidar has scored 4000 runs at an average of 45.97, with 12 centuries to his name.
Why would Kuldeep Yadav replace Jadeja in India playing 11?
Kuldeep, being a chinaman, will bring variety as compared to Sourabh Kumar who is an orthodox left-arm spinner, much like Axar Patel. Kuldeep could pose a challenge to the English batters who reverse-swept the orthodox left-arm and right-arm spin all around the park. Thus, a chinaman could alter the loop and flight and make them miss their reverse sweep shots.
Also, Kuldeep bowled brilliantly in his last Test appearance for India, which was against Bangladesh in 2022, taking eight wickets. He, therefore, deserves a chance ahead of Sourabh. Though Sourabh took a five-wicket haul against the England Lions too, Kuldeep has more variety to offer both with the ball and with the bat too, as he is a proven talent in First-Class cricket with a century to his name.
Could Sarfaraz get a chance in place of Gill in India playing 11?
Sarfaraz Khan, who has a First-Class average of 69 with 3912 runs in his kitty from 45 matches and scores of 96 and 161 against the England Lions, could knock at the doors of the Indian team to replace Shubman Gill, who has not been able to get even one fifty-plus score in his last 10 innings in all the formats combined.
Even in his last 10 Test innings, the Punjab batter has been unable to get past the 50-run mark. He last scored a hundred way back in March 2023 against Australia. Due to a considerable drop in his form, Gill’s Test average is languishing at a modest 29.52 which is in quite a contrast with his One Day International (ODI) average of 61.37.
Thus, it might not be impossible for Sarfaraz to get a place in the Indian playing 11 in place of Gill. He might not play at number three and Patidar, who has mostly batted at number three in his First-Class career, might move to three to allow Sarfaraz to bat at four, his favoured place in the batting line-up. But Sarfaraz will only play if Gill doesn’t.
