Following his exclusion from the squad for the tests against Bangladesh, Sarfaraz Khan made full outcome of this opportunity as he made 150 runs and helped India avoid in innings defeat. Though Sarfaraz has been praised by a lot of people for working well under pressure, former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel still thinks that KL Rahul is going to get backed y the team instead of Sarfaraz.
“The question will be whether Sarfaraz Khan will get to play or they will go with KL Rahul. I will still play KL Rahul, the way the team has shown faith in him. I am thinking like that based on how the team’s thinking has been,” Parthiv said.
Sarfaraz came to play when Shubman Gill had to step out of the 1st Test due to a stiff neck. Rahul has been opening the innings in the format and could have played at mo.3, but the management decided to put him in middle order as Kohli went up a spot and Sarfaraz played in his place.
Patel compared Sarfaraz to that of Akash Deep, as he is sitting in the benches while the team management thinks of Mohammed Siraj to be the second pacer. However, Patel also stated about him feeling pressure to be at Rahul to prove his strength of character.
“If you wanted, you could have made Rahul bat at No. 3 in this Test match but you said that you didn’t want to change his position. Nothing to take from Sarfaraz’s knock, he made 150 runs for sure, but it’s the same situation as Mohammed Siraj or Akash Deep. There will definitely be pressure on KL Rahul but I would still play him,” Patel said.
