IND vs BAN: Sarfaraz Khan to join Team India in Chennai; injury concern in the side?
In a massive update, middle order batter Sarfaraz Khan is set to join the Indian squad for the first Test match against Bangladesh to be played at M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. He will fight for a middle-order spot with KL Rahul.
Sarfaraz was always in the plans for this series after a brilliant start to his international career in his debut Test series against England earlier this year. He scored 200 runs in 3 Tests at an average of 50. He has scored 3 fifties in as many Tests so far.
However, the selectors decided that the 26-year-old must play an extra Duleep Trophy game instead of taking part in the preparatory camp before the Test series.
A preparatory camp was organized for the Indian players to get acclimatized to the conditions and the format as India is playing a Test match after almost 6 months.
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Sarfaraz Khan and KL Rahul set to fight for a middle-order spot
Sarfaraz khan to join Indian squad tonight
— रोहित जुगलान Rohit Juglan (@rohitjuglan) September 15, 2024
in Chennai @RevSportzGlobal
With Sarfaraz Khan joining the squad, he will likely be in a tussle for a single middle-order spot in the team with KL Rahul. Rahul played the first match of the Duleep Trophy 2024 for India A and scored 37 and 57 across both innings.
He was called up for the preparatory camp along with other players on the team. Currently, it seems that Rahul is ahead for a spot in the first Test against Bangladesh. He is likely to take the No. 5 spot in the team unless there are any sudden injury concerns.
Rahul was India's first-choice middle-order batter but got injured after the first Test against England in Hyderabad. He scored a brilliant 86 in the first innings of the match. He was ruled out of the whole series resulting in Sarfaraz's debut in the third Test.
Sarfaraz Khan in Duleep Trophy 2024
Sarfaraz Khan will join the team after playing an extra Duleep Trophy game for India B at Anantapur. However, he did not have a good game and scored 16 in the only innings he batted in the match.
In the four innings he played in the Duleep Trophy 2024, Sarfaraz wasn't at his best and scored just 71 runs in 2 Tests at an average of 23.66.
He did not cross the fifty-run mark in any of the four innings and his best scored was a fiery knock of 46 off 36 balls in the second innings of the first match against India A.
Sarfaraz has shown immense potential in his successful first career. He has played 50 first-class matches and scored 4183 runs at an average of 66.39. He has scored these runs at a strike rate of 70.56.
He received his maiden international call-up against England earlier this year after his consistent performances in domestic cricket.
India will play a two-match Test series against Bangladesh. The first Test of the series will be played in Chennai on September 19-23. Meanwhile, the second Test will be held on September 27-October 1 in Kanpur.
