‘I will still play KL Rahul’ – Former India player backs under fire batter to come good during 2nd test in Pune

Indian batter KL Rahul has come under heavy fire for his bad outing during the opening Test match against New Zealand. The 32-year-old was out for a duck in the 1st innings before scoring just 12 runs in the second. At the end of the game, Rahul bent down and touched the pitch which caused huge speculations about his future. 

Former Indian star Parthiv Patel during his chat at the end of the game with Jio Cinema said he would give Rahul one more chance. The 39-year-old feels that Shubman Gill’s return to the team post his injury could see Sarfaraz Khan miss out. The right-handed batter from Mumbai scored 150 in the 2nd innings during the Bengaluru Test. 

Parthiv Patel said “I will still play KL Rahul, the way the team has shown faith in him. I am thinking like that based on how the team’s thinking has been. If you wanted, you could have made Rahul bat at No. 3 in this Test match but you said that you didn’t want to change his position”

The former Indian wicketkeeper also added “Nothing to take from Sarfaraz’s knock, he made 150 runs for sure, but it’s the same situation as Mohammed Siraj or Akash Deep. There will definitely be pressure on KL Rahul but I would still play him”

Aakash Chopra and Ajay Jadeja raise doubts over Sarfaraz Khan’s place in Indian XI

Sarfaraz Khan has more or less sealed his place in the final playing XI for the Pune Test starting on Thursday. The right-handed batter scored his first century in international cricket and was out for 150 during the 2nd essay of the game in Bengaluru. 

Speaking during the post-game show in Jio Cinema, Aakash Chopra said “There is a theory. Karun Nair made 300 but was dropped in the next match. Why? Because he was playing in place of Ajinkya Rahane in that match, and with the latter coming back, Nair fell back in pecking order. A Test career that could have been, might have been”

The former Indian opener also added “Nair never got that continuity. Going by that theory, Sarfaraz will sit out, but I feel that won't happen. One more thing is important in Indian cricket - outside noise - and that favours Sarfaraz right now,”

Meanwhile, Ajay Jadeja also added his insights into the conversation and said “I see it this way. The player who was rested was a No. 3 batter. The one who replaced him batted in place of Virat Kohli at No. 4. So if you ask me, will Kohli play or Sarfaraz? So we should begin thinking in that fashion. We just listened to Rohit Sharma now (in press conference), where he said that every player has been given a message. So in that case, if they drop Mohammed Siraj, then Rahul should also be benched, because they are now going through a similar phase.”