KL Rahul finds himself on a challenging pitch. The right-handed batter’s place in the Indian team for the second Test against New Zealand in Pune is looking shaky.
Shubman Gill, who batted at the Chinnaswamy nets on Sunday, looked to have recovered from neck stiffness and is set to return to the No.3 slot.
Sarfaraz Khan, who went in as Gill’s replacement in Bengaluru, where India lost by eight wickets, made a statement with his 150 in the second innings under enormous pressure. His counterattacking knock kept India in the fight after being dismissed for a team total of 46 in thefirst innings.
India's KL Rahul plays a shot during the fourth day of the first test cricket match between India and New Zealand at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, Saturday, Oct 19, 2024. PTI
If Gill and Sarfaraz both make the final XI, it will be tough to accommodate Rahul.
However, considering Rahul’s experience and the fact that he has hit seven of his eight Test centuries in overseas conditions, the management may well continue to back him keeping in mind the upcoming Test series in Australia.
But if selected for Pune, Rahul needs to score sufficient runs to vindicate the team management’s faith in him.
The black-soil pitch at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium will most likely be a slow turner andon the flatter side, which should make the going easier for batters on the first three days at least.
But would it be fair to drop Sarfaraz after such a fine innings to make place for Rahul?
“It will be interesting to see what the team does in such a situation... Will be difficult to drop Sarfaraz now after he played such an innings. To talk of Rahul, he could have avoided that dismissal in the second innings,” said former India fielding coach R. Sridhar.
Falling to the leg-side trap in the first innings of the previous game, Rahul couldn’t drop his hands in time to arising delivery from Will O’Rourke in the second essay.
Former national selector Devang Gandhi, however, doesn’t wish to draw a conclusion based on the results of just one Test. “Sarfaraz’s performance augurs well as you now have healthy competition in the middle order.
“Now, Rahul can’t be judged solely by those two innings in Bengaluru. A lot depends on what conversations are happening among the captain, coach and the players. Knowing Rohit (Sharma) and Gautam (Gambhir), they’ll give a lot of security to the players.
“For that matter, even Karun Nair got a triple hundred (unbeaten 303 against England in Chennai in 2016) and was dropped. So, one century or one failure won’t change the team dynamics a lot,” Devang explained. “But yes, whenever Sarfaraz gets an opportunity, he lets his bat do the talking. People talk about his fitness and so on, but he’s cricket-fit and importantly knows how to score runs.”
“Adaptability, preparation and form-wise, Sarfaraz should get the nod (in Pune). He worships red-ball cricket, which needs to be valued,” Bengal U-19 head coach Sourashish Lahiri, who worked with Sarfaraz as India B bowling coach during this year’s Duleep Trophy, said.
