When India selected both KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan in their squad for the opening red-ball game against Bangladesh, which will take place from September 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, it was confirmed that there would be a toss-up between the two batters for the number five position.
Rahul was the first choice wicket-keeper batter for India as he smashed an impressive century during their South Africa trip towards the end of the last year, and also scored a half-century in the first innings of the Hyderabad Test against England before being ruled out of the series with injury.
Meanwhile, when he was out of action, the Rohit Sharma-led side used Sarfaraz Khan in the middle order and smashed 200 runs in five innings at an average of 50 and a strike rate of nearly 80 with the help of three half-centuries and a best score of unbeaten 68 runs.
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Now, with Rahul being fit and raring to go, the natural way of selection would be making his return, but there was nothing wrong with Sarfaraz Khan having done with the bat in hand. The only reason behind the thought process could be that they had been looking forward to the upcoming five-match Australia trip for five Tests, and the experience of 50 Tests for the Karnataka-born is giving him the extra lift.
Sarfaraz Khan to extend his time with India B in Duleep Trophy 2024
In the first round of the Duleep Trophy, the Mumbai-born, who has smashed 4167 runs in 49 first-class games at an average of 67.20 and a strike rate of over 70, shouldering on 14 half-centuries and 14 centuries with a best score of unbeaten 301 runs, featured for India B team, under the captaincy of Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Sarfaraz Khan struggled in the first innings for his nine runs in 35 balls before being adjusted leg before the stumps by the expressive delivery from Avesh Khan. His brother, Musheer Khan, had an excellent time in the middle with his 181-run knock.
Sarfaraz Khan, however, showed great resilience in the second innings, and when the team was under pressure at 22/3 in the first half an hour of their batting, he took the aggressive mode and nailed 46 runs in 36 deliveries with the help of seven boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 127.78.
In the same game at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Rahul was on his opponent’s time for the Ind A side under the captaincy of Shubman Gill, as he made 37 runs in the first innings with the help of four boundaries before a lapse in concentration saw him trying to play the reverse scoop for a boundary against Washington Sundar, where the ball disturbed the stumps.
In the second inning, the target was stiff, and he kept on losing his partners from one end, making it hard for him to go for the win. The Bengaluru-born decided to show his class with a 57-run knock in 121 balls, based on seven boundaries, as both of his knocks were the highest individual scores of the two innings of the India B team.
Despite most of the Indian players not being made available for the second round of the Duleep Trophy, BCCI has allowed Sarfaraz Khan to play the second round of the event against India C at ACA ADCA ground in Anantapur, which ends on September 15, just four days before the start of the Chennai Test. This confirms India is going with Rahul at number five, as the Mumbai batter will wait for his chance.