Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has thrown his weight behind Sarfaraz Khan to replace the injured KL Rahul in the playing XI of the second Test against England in Vizag, starting on February 2.
With injuries sidelining both Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Monday named Sarfaraz, spinner Sourabh Kumar, and all-rounder Washington Sundar as their replacements for the second Test.
Chopra, expressing his views on his YouTube channel, highlighted Sarfaraz’s unorthodox style of play and his proficiency against spin, making a strong case for the Mumbai-based batter to make his debut for the national team in Vizag.
“Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar are available with this team. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Virat Kohli are still not there. They will have to play either Rajat Patidar or Sarfaraz. You can go towards Sarfaraz because he can play in an unorthodox fashion and is a very good player of spin,” said Chopra.
Sarfaraz, a prolific run-getter in the last three seasons of domestic cricket for Mumbai, recently smashed a brilliant 161 as India A defeated England Lions by an innings and 16 runs in the second four-day match in Ahmedabad.
Commenting on Rahul’s unfortunate injury, Chopra highlighted the wicketkeeper-batter’s recurrent struggle with injuries throughout his career and said: “This has been the biggest problem in KL Rahul’s career. Injuries or illnesses have come at the wrong time and they have come many a time. The way he played in the first innings, and to be fair, he was batting assuredly in the second innings as well.”
“There are very few people in our team who play the sweep. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul play the sweep, and KL Rahul will now not be there in this game,” he added.