IND vs ENG: Indian batter Rajat Patidar gets maiden Test call-up
Ahead of the second Test against England, Indian batter Rajat Patidar said that receiving his maiden Test call-up is the happiest moment of his life, and he also spoke about observing and learning from senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
India, 1-0 down in the five-match series, will take on England in the second Test at Visakhapatnam on Friday. With KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja out due to injuries and Virat missing the first two Tests due to personal reasons, Patidar could make his Test debut for India.
"Whenever a player gets injured, it becomes difficult for him. I told myself that I cannot change my recovery time, kept myself in the present and accepted it. Returning from injury, getting my first Test call-up is the happiest moment for me, because it was my dream to play Tests for India. I received the call while playing for India A," said Patidar in a video posted by BCCI.
Patidar said that he has been communicating well with head coach Rahul Dravid and also discusses batting with skipper Sharma in the nets.
Patidar, an aggressive batter, is trying to implement the elements of the veteran's game into his.
With Kohli missing the first two Tests, players KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja out due to injuries and youngsters Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer going through a lean patch, Sarfaraz Khan also has a good chance of making his highly-anticipated international debut for India.
In the ongoing series of three unofficial Tests against England Lions happening side-by-side of the bilateral series between India-England senior sides, Patidar has been in a fine form, scoring 111 in the first game while 151 and 4 came in the second game.
Meanwhile, England's Test team head coach Brendon McCullum stated that uncapped spinner Shoaib Bashir is in contention to play in the second Test against India.
Bashir who missed out on the first Test due to visa issues linked up with the England team in Hyderabad and arrived in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday ahead of the second Test.
The England management expressed a possibility of Bashir featuring in the second Test because they feel his attributes are suited according to the Indian conditions.
McCullum hailed the team's decision to stick with Tom Hartley in the first Test. The 24-year-old scalped seven wickets in the second innings to guide England to victory.
India's updated Squad for 2nd Test vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar.
(ANI)