Sarfaraz Khan Shares Picture with Skipper Rohit Sharma After Joining Team India for 2nd England Test

After years of hard work and grinding, Sarfaraz has finally entered the Indian dressing room. The right-hand batter from Mumbai received a maiden Test call-up on Monday after the likes of Ravindra Jadeja and batter KL Rahul were ruled out of the second Test against England, starting Friday in Vizag.

Sarfaraz stands a chance to make his India debut in the absence of KL Rahul. However, he faces stiff competition with fellow uncapped batter Rajat Patidar. The Madhya Pradesh batter was included in the squad as a replacement for Virat Kohli who made himself unavailable for the first two Tests citing personal issues.

Ahead of the second Test, Sarfaraz attended the training session with the team on Wednesday. After sweating it out in the nets, the 26-year-old had a brief conversation with the Indian captain. Sarfaraz then took to Instagram and shared the picture with Rohit on his story.

Meanwhile, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour said it ‘will be tough’ to pick one among Sarfaraz and Patidar. Addressing the reporters on Wednesday, he said the playing XI will be finalised keeping in mind the conditions.

“It will be a tough choice. What value they bring to the team, of course, is that they are superb players. We have seen how well they have done in domestic cricket in the last few years,” Rathour said in a press conference.

“So on these kind of wickets, I think they can really add a lot of value to the team. If we have to pick just one out of them, of course, it would be tough. But, that decision will be made by Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma,” he added.

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The sweep doesn’t come naturally to the home team batters and coach Rathour said that they should play to their strengths.

“It is not something you can try. You need to practice it. If you have more shots it is beneficial. We play in a traditional way. Our strength is going straight and using our feet. We need to do that well and if we can play some shots, that is always a good addition,” he said.