Rajat Patidar Debut – Rajat Patidar was granted his Test debut as Team India took on England in the second match of the ongoing five-game series in Visakhapatnam on February 2. Chosen over Sarfaraz Khan to replace KL Rahul in the playing XI, Patidar’s inclusion comes as a recognition of his outstanding performances in domestic cricket and India A matches. The 30-year-old displayed his batting prowess with scores of 111, 151, and 4 in unofficial Test matches against England Lions last month.
Winning the toss, Indian captain Rohit Sharma opted to bat first at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. The home side made three changes to their lineup, with Rajat Patidar and Kuldeep Yadav coming in for the injured KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, respectively. Mohammed Siraj was rested, and Mukesh Kumar joined Jasprit Bumrah in sharing the fast bowling duties.
Rajat Patidar Making His Debut – Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma announced Patidar’s debut at the toss, highlighting the batter’s chance to shine in the absence of KL Rahul. Despite being in the squad for the first two Test matches against England, Patidar did not feature in the playing XI during India’s previous 28-run loss in Hyderabad.
With an impressive domestic record of 4,000 runs in 55 first-class matches at an average of 45.97, including 12 centuries and 22 fifties, Patidar now has the opportunity to secure his spot in the squad for the remaining three matches, following Virat Kohli’s decision to opt out due to personal reasons.
India vs England Playing XI:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mukesh Kumar
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson
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