KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan have been the most talked about cricketers after the first Test match between India and New Zealand, Sarfaraz for his exceptional batting, and KL Rahul for his continuous failure. The assistant coach team India Ryan ten Doeschate has talked about the team’s lineup for the second Test in the series against New Zealand. He said that wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan are both trying to secure a spot in the middle order. The reason behind it is the expected return of the Indian opener Shubman Gill.
Rohit Sharma’s team lost by eight wickets in the first Test match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, October 20. They were bowled out for just 46 runs in their first innings, making it their lowest score in a home Test and the third-lowest in their overall Test history. And then, while chasing the target of 107 runs New Zealand made it quickly with the help of Will Young and Rachin Ravindra.
At the press conference, Ryan ten Doeschate said it’s unclear if KL Rahul’s place in the team is guaranteed, as many players are competing for a spot in the playing XI. He also mentioned that, despite not scoring in the first match, Rahul is in a good mental state.
While talking to the media at the MCA stadium, Ryan Doeschate said, “Yeah, there’s no point in sugarcoating it, there’s a fight for a spot.”
“Sarfaraz was obviously brilliant in the last Test. I went to KL after the last Test (and) said how many balls do you play at (and) miss at? He didn’t play at (and) miss at one ball and that’s what tends to happen when you’re not getting runs.”
“There’s certainly no concerns about KL, he’s batting nicely, he’s in a good mental space. But we are certainly going to have to fit seven pieces into six spots for this Test and look at the pitch now and decide what’s going to be best for the team,” he added.
Shubman Gill missed the first Test against New Zealand because of neck stiffness. Sarfaraz Khan was back in the playing XI for the first match. Both Sarfaraz and KL Rahul got out without scoring in the first innings. However, Sarfaraz made his first century(150) in the second innings, while Rahul scored 12 runs.
The Mumbai batter scored 150 runs from 195 balls, hitting 18 boundaries and three sixes. Sarfaraz has had a great start to his Test career with Team India. He scored three half-centuries in his debut series against England. However, he didn’t get to play in the recent Test series against Bangladesh and stayed on the bench.
Ryan ten Doeschate said that KL Rahul is still an important player in Test cricket and that head coach Gautam Gambhir wants to give him more chances. Ten Doeschate also said the team isn’t worried about Rahul’s form and trusts his abilities.
“It’s not like we’re worried about his form. If you go on just the past three months since Gauti has been in here, he’s keen to give him (Rahul) as much rope as we can. We have a lot of faith in him,” ten Doeschate said.
“But at the same time, it’s a very competitive environment, with Sarfaraz getting 150 plus runs (222 not out) in the Irani Trophy final. The decision will be what’s best for the team, but we’ll certainly back all the guys in,” he added.
India lost the first match against New Zealand by eight wickets. With this win, New Zealand is up with 0-1 in the ongoing Test series with two matches more to go. The second match between India and New Zealand will be played from 24th October at Maharashtra Cricket Stadium, Pune.
According to several media reports, Team India is going to make some changes in the second match. KL Rahul might have to lose his spot in the second Test match due to bad performance.
