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India batting coach Vikram Rathour has extended his support to struggling Rajat Patidar ahead of the fourth Test against England, starting on February 23 in Ranchi. Patidar has had a challenging start to his Test career, amassing just 46 runs at an average of 11.50 in two matches.
Making his debut in the Vizag Test and retaining his place in the playing XI for the Rajkot Test, Patidar’s batting performances have left a lot to be desired. Disappointing fans and critics alike, he posted scores of 32 and 9 in Vizag, followed by a dismal outing in Rajkot with scores of 5 and 0 in each innings.
Patidar earned his place in the Indian team after Virat Kohli retired due to personal reasons. He earned his Test cap in Vizag as a replacement for the injured KL Rahul and batted at number 4 in both Tests. While there is speculation about his place in the XI in the fourth Test in Ranchi, coach Rathour insisted that a player cannot be named based on just two matches, especially when there is no timetable for Kohli’s return and Rahul.
‘Two bad games don’t make Rajat Patidar a bad player’
“If KL Rahul comes back, if Virat Kohli comes back… We don’t know when it’s going to happen. We have been having a lot of conversations with him (Patidar). One thing he has to understand is that this is how this game works. He has been batting very well and scoring many runs to get into the team.
“Two bad games do not make him a bad player. He only had two difficult games, a couple of uncomfortable expulsions, which can happen to anyone. There is absolutely no doubt that he is a good player. On his day, he will do it” . create impactful innings,” Rathour said during the pre-match press conference on Thursday.
With Rahul not in the squad for the Ranchi Test, Patidar will wait for another opportunity to prove himself in the longer format. With Sarfaraz Khan enjoying a stellar debut in the third Test and players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill in good form, Patidar certainly faces the heat as Team India prepares for a series-clinching victory in Ranchi.
The five-Test series is currently 2-1 in favor of the hosts; India had conceded a narrow defeat in the first Test but had since comprehensively beaten England in two matches in Visakhapatnam and Rajkot.