The Indian cricket team is missing plenty of regular known faces in their lineup including the likes of Virat Kohli who is unavailable for selection due to personal reasons and KL Rahul, who is not fully fit for the third Test against England in Rajkot. This gives a chance to new faces and one of them is Sarfaraz Khan who is yet to make his debut for Inida. Shreyas Iyer is gone and Rahul’s injury doubts have left the field open for the domestic cricket star to show his skillset on international level.
“Sarfaraz (Khan) will be making his debut. As KL (Rahul) has been ruled out for this Test, Sarfaraz will be getting his first game,” a source revealed to TOI. (Big Blow To England Ahead Of 3rd Test Vs India As Jack Leach Ruled Out Of Series Due To Injury IND Vs ENG)
KL Rahul will miss the upcoming third Test match against England in Rajkot due to a sore knee, according to a report by ESPNcricinfo. The report also stated that left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal will replace Rahul in the squad.
After a few scans, it became clear that the 31-year-old wasn’t fully fit for which he had to miss the second Test match against England in Visakhapatnam. With former India skipper Virat Kohli not available for the remaining three Test matches, Rahul’s injury is a blow for the Indian side in the tightly contested series.
Earlier on Saturday, while announcing the squad for the last three matches of the Test series against England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that Ravindra Jadeja and Rahul’s participation depended on fitness clearance from the medical team. (Memes Pour In After India Lose Third Straight ICC Final To Australia After Loss In U19 World Cup Final; Check Reactions)
“The participation of Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul is subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team,” BCCI had said. (WATCH: Jadeja’s Wife Loses Cool When Asked About Father In law’s Allegations Towards Her)
Virat Kohli had earlier missed the first two Tests. His last appearance came in the T20I series against Afghanistan earlier in January.
“Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. The Board fully respects and supports Mr. Kohli’s decision,” the board had said in a statement.