Sarfaraz Khan or Devdutt Padikkal? Brad Hogg names the batsman who can make his debut in 3rd IND vs ENG Test

Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal will be in contention to make their Test debut when Team India take on England in the third Test of the ongoing five-match series.

Both the batsmen could not make the cut for the original squad before being called up as injury replacement. Sarfaraz Khan was added to the squad before the second Test after Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul were ruled out of the game. He was retained for the third Test as well after the selectors dropped Shreyas Iyer from the squad.

On the other hand, Devdutt Padikkal made it to the team for the third Test after Rahul was ruled out of the game as he failed to recover from the quadriceps injury. With both Rahul and Iyer not available, India will have a new-look middle-order for the game.

Sarfaraz Khan or Devdutt Padikkal?

One between Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal is set to make his debut in Tests in the upcoming game. While only time will tell who gets the debut cap on Thursday (February 15), former Australia spinner Brad Hogg believes the Karnataka batsman will get the nod ahead of the Mumbai star. He stated that India head coach Rahul Dravid will prefer Devdutt Padikkal because of his ability to bat at any position.

“I think they will go for Padikkal (over Sarfaraz). He has scored a fine hundred against Tamil Nadu the other day. It was a brilliant innings. Coach Rahul Dravid is a big one (admirer) for top-order batters. You need to be able to bat in more than one position and that’s what Padikkal does,” said Brad Hogg on his YouTube channel.

Speaking about Sarfaraz Khan, Hogg said that the batsman has struggled against pace in the past and it could work against him. At the same time, he also said that if Sarfaraz Khan is doing well against Jasprit Bumrah in the nets, the Indian team management should pick him over Devdutt Padikkal.

“We have seen Sarfaraz Khan have a bit of trouble with pace in the IPL. But if he has been working on it, Rahul Dravid has been having him in the nets facing Bumrah and handling him well then I would go with Sarfaraz Khan. But what I have seen outside of the little bubble, I will go with Padikkal. I know I have been harsh on Sarfaraz Khan there, but I love what Padikkal got to offer with a left-hander in that line-up,” he said.

The five-match series is currently locked at 1-1. Both teams will be aiming to win the upcoming game and take the lead in the five-match series.