India Cricket Team have suffered a triple blow ahead of IND vs ENG 2nd Test. While Virat Kohli was already ruled out due to personal reasons, India have lost KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja from the Vizag Test. Mohammed Shami was also ruled out with injury. BCCI has called in reinforcements with Sarfaraz Khan finally getting a chance. Washington Sundar and left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar are the other two players.
IND vs ENG 2nd Test: Reinforcements
Sarfaraz Khan
The middle-order batter ends a long wait for a chance. Despite scoring tons of runs in Ranji Trophy, he was always overlooked for different reasons. Firstly, his fitness was made an issue and then it was his IPL form and next it was his poor discipline. But all that finally ends. He gets a chance with KL Rahul ruled out.
Sarfaraz Khan scored a brilliant 161 against England Lions after hitting 96 and 55 against the same team. Against South Africa A, he scored 68 & 34 in recent matches.
But it was Ranji Trophy, where he stamped his authority. He hammered 982 runs in 2022. He followed that up with 556 runs in just nine innings the next season. In fact, in 44 first-class matches, Sarfaraz Khan has averaged 68.20.
- Matches: 45
Innings: 66
Runs: 3912
Avg: 69.85
Best: 301
50/100: 11/14
Saurabh Kumar
The left-arm spinner has been the best backup option for Ravindra Jadeja after Axar Patel. But with Jadeja and Axar already in the squad, he has had to wait for his chance. That opportunity has finally got the nod. He bagged a fifer and scored 77 runs against England Lions for India A. He has already been part of India squad but the UP all-rounder could never make his debut.
- Mat: 68
Innings: 86
Runs: 2061
Avg: 27.11
Best: 133
50/100: 12/2
Wickets: 290
Best: 8/64
Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar has been dubbed as the perfect replacement for Ravichandran Ashwin. While he is yet to be the wicket-taking juggernaut as Ashwin, he has already shown glimpses of his batting skills. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder has played 4 Tests, bagging 6 wickets and scoring 265 runs for India. He scored a fantastic 62 against Australia in Gabba.
