IND against ENG: KL Rahul Ravindra Jadeja is out of the second Test, and Sarfaraz Khan receives his first call-up for India.

India suffered a severe setback when allrounder Ravindra Jadeja and batsman KL Rahul were ruled out of the second Test against England at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, following an embarassing loss in the opening Test match. Notably, Rahul reported experiencing soreness in his right quadriceps while Jadeja suffered a hamstring ailment on Day 4 of the first game.

The two will have their progress monitored by the medical personnel of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India). Sarfaraz Khan, the Mumbai batter, has finally been called up for the first time to the Indian side, and the Men’s Selection Committee has picked replacements for the two. In addition to him, left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar of Uttar Pradesh and spin all-rounder Washington Sundar have been added to the Indian team.

The Men’s Selection Committee have added Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar to India’s squad.#INDvENG https://t.co/xgxI8NsxpV

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 29, 2024

Sarfaraz has been racking up runs in the Ranji Trophy since 2019, but his lengthy wait for a team India selection is over thanks to the national call-up. During the 2019–20 season, the 26-year-old amassed 928 runs from nine innings at an average of 154.66, with three hundreds and two fifties.

He also concluded the 2021–22 season with 982 runs from nine innings at an average of 122.75, including four hundreds and two fifties, making him the league’s top run scorer. In addition, Sarfaraz scored 556 runs in nine innings during the 2022–2023 season, including three hundreds and one fiftie. His average was 92.66.

Nevertheless, Suryakumar Yadav was picked ahead of him for the four-match Test series against Australia in February and March 2023, so despite his incredible run, the selectors consistently ignored him.

India’s best scores in the first innings of the first Test were Jadeja and KL Rahul.

Jadeja and KL Rahul appeared to be in excellent form in the first Test, so their absences going into the second match will be a major blow for India. In the first innings of the opening match of the series, India’s top two scorers were Jadeja (87) and Rahul (86), with the left-arm spinner taking five wickets in the match.

India is already 0-1 down in the series, therefore the management of the squad would have a monumental task ahead of them in trying to replace the two. Virat Kohli’s absence, who withdrew from the first two Tests for personal reasons, has made the situation even worse.

The second Test, which starts on Friday, February 02 at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, presents a formidable challenge for the Rohit Sharma-led team, which is trying to win the series despite missing a number of first-choice players.

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, and Sourabh Kumar are the updated Indian squad for their second Test match against England.