"That's not normal..." - AB de Villiers astonished by Sarfaraz Khan's records; backs his playing XI selection

Sarfaraz Khan has earned his much-deserved call-up in the Indian Test team for the second Test against England in Vizag starting on February 2. India lost the first Test by 28 runs, and are trailing in the series and have dropped to the fifth position on the WTC points table.

Sarfaraz along with Washington Sundar and Saurabh Kumar were added to the Indian squad after KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were ruled out due to injury concerns. Sarfaraz came in as a replacement for Rahul while Sundar and Kumar were named as potential replacements for Ravindra Jadeja.

Given how a few Indian players played in the first Test, Sarfaraz’s selection might be on the cards in the second Test. The Mumbai batter has staggering first-class numbers with 3912 runs in just 45 matches and just 66 innings. He scored 14 hundreds and 11 fifties in the meantime at an average of nearly 70.

Over the last two Ranji Trophy seasons, he has been extraordinary. In the 2022-23 season, he amassed 556 runs across six games, boasting an impressive average of 92.66, which included three centuries. The previous season witnessed even more staggering numbers, with Sarfaraz piling up 982 runs at an astonishing average of 122.75.

Sarfaraz Khan Has A Very Good First-Class Record: AB de Villiers

AB de Villiers while previewing the second India-England Test on his YouTube channel backed Sarfaraz to make his debut in the second Test saying that he deserves it.

“It’s just very exciting for me. His record in first-class cricket is quite outstanding, and if there’s a guy that deserves it, it’s certainly him. He has played 66 innings, 3912 runs, and an average of 69.85. 14 hundreds and 11 fifties, guys, that is not normal,” said AB de Villiers.

“That is a very, very good first-class record. I know it’s a big jump up to international cricket against England, on the biggest stage, I hope he gets a chance because Rajat Patidar has also been playing well,” he further added.

Kuldeep Yadav Can Replace Ravindra Jadeja: AB de Villiers

De Villiers further said that Kuldeep Yadav can replace Ravindra Jadeja in the next Test. The BCCI named Sundar as a like-for-like replacement for Jadeja given that Sundar is a specialist all-rounder. However, De Villiers backed the specialist spinner to replace Jadeja stating that he has an X-factor with the ball.

“It can only be Kuldeep Yadav, who doesn’t offer as much with the bat or in the field, but he does have a lot of X-factor with the ball in hand. He maybe gives India a little bit of extra variation with the bowling department because you had Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja there, two left-arm spinners” said De Villiers on Kuldeep.

India dropped to the fifth position on the WTC points table after the loss in the first Test. They will now need to win the second Test to bring parity in the five-match series which will be played in spin-friendly conditions across different venues.

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