Sarfaraz Khan vs KL Rahul - Former Cricketer Votes For Experience In The Second Test vs NZ
![KL Rahul struggled to score in Bengaluru [Source: PTI]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1729486246618_klrahul.jpg?im=Resize=(650,450))
KL Rahul struggled to score in Bengaluru [Source: PTI]
Team India slumped to a crashing eight-wicket defeat against New Zealand in Bengaluru to go 0-1 down in their three-match Test series. Batting first, India’s star-studded line-up folded up for just 46 in 31.2 overs on Day 2 of the match, with as many as five batters, including senior man KL Rahul and newcomer Sarfaraz Khan securing unwanted ducks.
While Sarfaraz shrugged off his first innings failure with a rip-roaring 150 on Day 4, Rahul managed to score just 12 in the second innings as part of India’s late batting collapse. Following his latest set of failures, the senior Indian batter drew a lot of flak from fans as well as from cricket experts, with several of them questioning his presence in the Indian team ahead of the remaining New Zealand Tests and the upcoming tour of Australia.
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Apparently, one such expert, former Indian wicketkeeper-batter Parthiv Patel, believes that the Indian team management should still back a struggling KL Rahul over a red-hot Sarfaraz Khan, in case Shubman Gill returns to the playing XI.
Patel believes Rahul should play over Sarfaraz Khan
Indian batter Shubman Gill sat out of the first Test in Bengaluru citing a stiff neck. If Gill ends up making his return to the playing XI for the remainder of the series, former cricketer Parthiv Patel believes the Indian team management should retain a struggling KL Rahul over in-form Sarfaraz Khan, even though the latter recently smacked his career-best 150 last week.
“The question will be whether Sarfaraz Khan will get to play or they will go with KL Rahul. I will still play KL Rahul, the way the team has shown faith in him. I am thinking like that based on how the team’s thinking has been. If you wanted, you could have made Rahul bat at No. 3 in this Test match but you said that you didn’t want to change his position.”
“Nothing to take from Sarfaraz Khan’s knock, he made 150 runs for sure, but it’s the same situation as Mohammed Siraj or Akash Deep. There will definitely be pressure on KL Rahul but I would still play him.”
Trailing 0-1 in the series, Team India will now face New Zealand in the second Test at the MCA Stadium in Pune between October 24 and October 28.
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