Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth has endorsed veteran KL Rahul to keep his No. 5 position over Sarfaraz Khan for the first Test against Bangladesh, beginning in Chennai on September 19. Rahul, who played in the first Test against England earlier this year, was sidelined for the remainder of the series due to injury.
As a result, he got a chance to make his debut for India against England in the last three test matches. The 26-year-old amassed 200 runs at an average of 50, including three half-centuries, helping India recover from a loss in the opener to secure a 4-1 series victory.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Srikkanth said that even though both Sarfaraz and Rahul are in the squad of the first Test match against Bangladesh, the latter should return to position No. 5.
“Honestly, I feel bad for Sarfaraz Khan. But, this happens, at times, in Test cricket. You would have been playing well but when a big player returns, you will have to lose your place. Take for instance, Rishabh Pant is returning because of which Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan are losing their places. KL Rahul is coming in,” he said.
According to Srikkanth, KL Rahul should be given a chance over Sarfaraz taking into account the forthcoming Australian tour. In the first innings of the series opening match against England – which was the last time he played a red-ball game for India – KL Rahul batted brilliantly and scored 86 runs.
“At the back of the mind, they are also keeping the Australia series. New Zealand are also coming. KL Rahul has performed well overseas, in Australia he has done well,” added Srikkanth.
India’s first four batsmen are set with Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli while their wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant is most probably going to occupy position number six. Therefore, the only remaining spot is number five which could either be filled by Rahul or Sarfaraz.
KL Rahul outshined Sarfaraz Khan in the 2024 Duleep Trophy opener
In the inaugural match of the Duleep Trophy (2024), on October 2023, KL Rahul faced off against Sarfaraz Khan when India A took on India B in Bengaluru. India A’s Rahul made scores of 37 and 57 in a low-scoring match as they could only cross the 300 mark once out of four innings.
Sarfaraz, who had scored only nine runs in the first innings, bounced back with a vital second-inning contribution of 36 balls for 46 that saw them establish a massive total of 275 for the opposing players. Despite India A’s loss by 76 runs due to Rahul’s brave attempt at half-century during the fourth innings.
Even though Sarfaraz has been excluded from the Round 2 line-up for the India A team while he was also part of the first Bangladesh Test in the Indian squad, However, Sarfaraz has retained his place on the India B roster.
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