Early on Sunday, reports started to emerge that Indian skipper Rohit Sharma had injured his left knee during a practice session. Soon, at the press conference later, India bowler clarified that the veteran batter was doing okay. “Such blows are common when you play cricket,” Akash said in Melbourne. “I think this (practice) wicket was for white ball, which is why the ball kept low at times. But these blows are common in training. There are no major concerns because of that.”
If No Rohit Sharma, then who?
But then, in case, Rohit Sharma isn’t fully fit to play the Test, who should replace him in the middle-order, is the big question? Look, let us simplify the debate a bit — who among Dhruv Jurel or Sarfaraz Khan should replace Rohit, if the latter is indeed injured? Let’s analyse.
| Sarfaraz Khan | Dhruv Jurel |
| M – 6, R – 371, HS – 150, AVG – 37.10 | M – 4, R – 202, HS – 90, AVG – 40.40 |
For starters, Dhruv Jurel has already played the Perth Test in the series, and returned with scores of 11 & 1, and on the other hand, Sarfaraz Khan last played during the IND vs NZ series; hasn’t gotten a chance in the IND vs AUS series. Having said that, in case of an emergency, it should be the wicket-keeper, who should get the nod.
Despite his failure in Perth, Jurel had done substantially well in practice match in Melbourne itself — where he had scored 80 and 68. But Sarfaraz has been poor in recent times. Ever since that 150 vs New Zealand in Bengaluru, he has returned with scores of 11, 9, 0, 1 and in the Indians vs PM XI match, he scored only 1. So, purely on basis of form, Dhruv Jurel is the first choice.
Dhruv Jurel vs Sarfaraz Khan
On the flip side, just for argument’s sake, MCG could assist spin bowling and the ball could keep low, and it might be a flat track to bat on. So, Sarfaraz might be a better choice, given how prolifically he has scored in the Indian domestic circuit for years now. But here too, what really gives Jurel the edge is, relatively higher experience of playing on Aussie pitches in competitive matches.
In fact, if Jurel does play under any circumstance, he could be used as a wicket-keeper instead of Rishabh Pant, who has already kept wickets in three Tests, and has looked off colour with the bat. It could considerably reduce his workload.
