Sarfaraz Khan set for another snub as KL Rahul to play 1st Test vs Bangladesh

The plans of the India National Cricket Team for the first Test against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team have been revealed, and the 26-year-old middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan is set to face yet another disappointment.

In the absence of KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, and Virat Kohli, Sarfaraz Khan got the opportunity to make his Test debut against England earlier this year. He made his debut game a memorable one by smashing twin quickfire fifties (62 & 68*). In the next Test, he failed (14 & 0) but bounced back strong and smashed a fifty (56) in the final Test.

It was expected that he had almost sealed his place in the India Test XI with the way he batted in his debut series. However, that is not the case, as per a report in PTI.

Star batsman KL Rahul is all set to take Sarfaraz Khan's place in the team. Reportedly, Indian team management has kept an eye on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, and looking at that, the more experienced KL Rahul will get the nod ahead of flamboyant Sarfaraz Khan in the Bangladesh Tests.

A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) source mentioned that KL Rahul was not dropped from the Test team, and he was forced to miss the last four Test matches against England earlier in the year due to an injury. Notably, KL Rahul registered scores of 86 and 22 in the previous game he played in Hyderabad.

"For people on the outside, they don't understand how a team works and what are the systems in place. In his last three Test matches, KL scored a century in South Africa, one of the best Test knocks in recent times and 86 at Hyderabad in the last Test he played before injury.

"He was not dropped but got injured. So, he is fit and available, scored a fifty in Duleep, got match time and he will start," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

Sarfaraz Khan has done everything right and mind it, if there is an injury anywhere, he will just walk in but... - BCCI source

The source added that Sarfaraz Khan has done a tremendous job for the India National Cricket Team in the limited opportunities he has received, and he will be the first to walk into the playing XI in case of an injury to any batter. However, he won't be the starter.

"Sarfaraz has done everything right, and mind it, if there is an injury anywhere, he will just walk in, but Rahul's experience is irreplaceable. And the team management is not just looking at Bangladesh, they are looking at Australia where previous experience matters," the source added.

Just like the KL Rahul-Sarfaraz Khan debate, the team management will reportedly settle the Rishabh Pant-Dhruv Jurel debate by preferring the experienced Pant over Jurel to maintain continuity in the Test team.

Meanwhile, the biggest competition for a spot in the playing XI will be between Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav and the team management will have to decide whether they want batting depth with Axar Patel's inclusion or Kuldeep Yadav's wrist-spin magic in the XI.

Meanwhile, the first Test of the IND-BAN series will be played from September 19 in Chennai, and the second Test will be played from September 27 in Kanpur.