Sarfaraz Khan to make his Test debut in Vizag? Harbhajan Singh provides breakthrough update

Former Indian cricket team spinner Harbhajan Singh suggested changes to India‘s playing XI for the second Test of the five-match series against England. Harbhajan Singh emphasized that young batter Sarfaraz Khan deserves to make his Test debut for the Indian team.

The Rohit Sharma-led team suffered a disappointing 28-run loss in the series opener in Hyderabad. To make matters worse, the home team is plagued by injuries to key players KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja. Virat Kohli is also unavailable for selection in the next match.

The selection committee added Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, and Sourabh Kumar as injury replacements for the Vishakapatnam Test. Either Sarfaraz or Patidar may replace Rahul in the batting lineup, while Sundar is a potential replacement for Jadeja.

Sarfaraz Khan Should Be Played At No.5 – Harbhajan Singh

In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan Singh recommended that Sarfaraz Khan should bat at the No. 5 position, highlighting his consistent run-scoring in domestic cricket and India A matches.

“I think Sarfaraz should be played at No. 5. He has been scoring a lot of runs in domestic cricket and even for India A in the matches against England Lions,” Harbhajan said.

Sarfaraz Khan showcased his batting brilliance for India A in official Test matches against England Lions, recording scores of 96, 4, 55, and 161. The 26-year-old batter has amassed 3,912 runs in first-class cricket at an average of 69.85, featuring 14 centuries and 11 fifties.

It Should Be Kuldeep Yadav – Harbhajan Singh

Harbhajan Singh emphasized that the decision between playing Kuldeep Yadav or Mohammed Siraj depends on pitch conditions. Singh said that Kuldeep should be the preferred choice as the fourth spinner in the playing XI, considering the potential spin-friendly track.

“In No. 11, it should be Kuldeep Yadav. He has the variations and he can also turn the ball in both directions. Recently, his performance was extremely good in the World Cup. If the team wants to add an extra spinner, the team should go with Kuldeep Yadav. If the wicket has something, play Siraj but if you think that it is a turning track, play Kuldeep as the fourth spinner,” Harbhajan further stated.

The Rohit Sharma-led team opted for a strategy of three spinners and two pacers for the first Test. Jasprit Bumrah picked up six wickets, while Mohammed Siraj remained wicketless. In contrast, the visitors fielded only one pacer in their playing XI for the series opener.

The Men in Blue also suffered a loss in the first Test of their previous home red-ball series against England. The home team faced a setback with a 227-run defeat in the opening match. However, they bounced back with victories in the remaining three Test matches.

The second Test match will be played at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, starting on Friday, February 2.

Harbhajan Singh’s playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, KS Bharat, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav/ Mohammed Siraj

Also read: “Ravichandran Ashwin is the 2nd highest scorer after Rohit Sharma..”- Harbhajan Singh issues warning to Rahul Dravid