'It will be a tough choice' - Vikram Rathour on Sarfaraz-Patidar selection conundrum for second Test

Team India have begun pondering over their playing combination for the second Test against England beginning from February 02 in Visakhapatnam. Notably, after the 28-run loss in the series opener in Hyderabad, matters got worse for the Rohit Sharma-led side as all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and batter KL Rahul were ruled out of the second game due to injuries.

As a result, the men’s selection committee announced Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar and Saurabh Kumar as replacements. For the second game, the team management is likely to bring in a spinner in Jadeja’s place and Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar will be the contenders to be in Rahul’s place.

Recently, Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour shared his thoughts regarding who will get a go in the playing XI between Sarfaraz and Patidar and said that it will be a tough choice given that both of them are super players.

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

Rathour further said that the duo will add a lot of value to the team and it will be upon head coach Rahul Dravid and captain Rohit Sharma to decide between the two.

“So on these kind of wickets, I think they can really add a lot of value to the team. If you have to pick one, it’s of course going to be tough. But that’s a decision I think Rahul and Rohit Sharma will have to make in a day or so,” Rathore added.

Notably, Patidar was brought into the side as a replacement for Virat Kohli, who has withdrawn from the first two Tests due to personal reasons. The Madhya Pradesh batter scored twin centuries against the England Lions ahead of the series. He further has 4000 first class runs to his name at an average of 45.97 with 12 hundreds and 22 fifties.

Sarfaraz Khan has an average of 69.85 in first class cricket

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On the other hand, Sarfaraz also scored a phenomenal 161 off 166 against the England Lions and has an incredible first-class average of 69.85 with 3912 runs to his name. The Mumbai batter has 14 hundreds and 11 fifties to his name and has been plundering runs in the Ranji Trophy since 2019.

Hence, selecting one out of the two will be a headache for the team management as India look to make a comeback in the series being 0-1 down.