KL Rahul’s loyalist turns against him, backs India's decision to pick Sarfaraz Khan

Former Karnataka cricketer Dodda Ganesh has backed Sarfaraz Khan's addition in India's playing 11 in India vs New Zealand 2nd Test. Dodda Ganesh posted a tweet on X to back Sarfaraz Khan against KL Rahul in the Indian Team in the 2nd Test after the latter's poor outings in the previous game.

Sarfaraz Khan is a new member of the India Test Team who made his debut during the India vs England Test series in February this year. The right-handed batsman has cemented his spot in the Test side with a consistent show in the middle-order.

For instance, the right-handed batter hit a century (150) in the previous India vs New Zealand 1st Test in Bengaluru. He was the only Indian batter to slam a century in the match; in which India lost by 8 wickets.

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Dooda Ganesh backs Sarfaraz Khan over KL Rahul in IND vs NZ 2nd Test

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma revealed his playing 11 for IND vs NZ 2nd Test at the toss. KL Rahul and Mohammed Siraj were dropped from the match and Akash Deep and Shubman Gill were added to the playing 11.

Notably, Rahul is a permanent Test member of the middle order but has lost his place to Sarfaraz Khan in the playing 11 for the first time. In the last Test, both of them were part of the playing 11.

After KL Rahul was dropped but Sarfaraz was retained in the playing 11 in the 2nd Test, Dodda Ganesh backed the decision on the micro-blogging site Twitter.

"There’s no substitute for consistency. Notwithstanding his ability unless KL Rahul finds a way to score consistently he’ll have to sit out. No two ways about it. Sarfaraz has deservedly earned his place by piling on mountain of runs", he posted. Have a look at his tweet below.

There’s no substitute for consistency. Notwithstanding his ability unless KL Rahul finds a way to score consistently he’ll have to sit out. No two ways about it. Sarfaraz has deservedly earned his place by piling on mountain of runs #INDvNZ

— Dodda Ganesh | ದೊಡ್ಡ ಗಣೇಶ್ (@doddaganesha) October 24, 2024

KL Rahul struggled with the bat in the previous Test

Notably, both Sarfaraz Khan and KL Rahul got out for ducks in the 1st innings of the previous Test. However, the former bounced back to smack 150 runs in the 2nd innings to grab the limelight.

On the other hand, Rahul got out for just 12 runs in the 2nd innings. Among the full-time batters, Rahul was the only one to score less than 20 runs in both innings. As a result, Rohit Sharma has picked Shubman Gill at one-down in the ongoing India vs New Zealand 2nd Test.

Also Read: Mohammed Siraj left hanging right before Pune Test vs New Zealand

New Zealand win the toss and opt to bat in 2nd Test

Meanwhile, New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first in the India vs New Zealand 2nd Test. The encounter takes place at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Till the end of 1st session, New Zealand reached 92-2 on the scoreboard in 31 overs.

Tom Latham and Will Young lost their wickets for 15 and 18 respectively. Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed both of them. Devon Conway (47*) and Rachin Ravindra (5*) were unbeaten on the crease after the end of 1st session.