[ad_1]
Sarfaraz Khan file photo© X (formerly Twitter)
India batting coach Vikram Rathour on Wednesday said it “will be difficult” to pick one between Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar in the second Test against England. The match begins here from Friday, with hosts India looking to achieve parity after losing the series opener in Hyderabad. After the first game, India faced injury problems with all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul ruled out of the second Test, apart from the absence of star batsman Virat Kohli. This forced the selectors to add uncapped Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar to the team, with Rajat Patidar also coming into the team.
“It will be a difficult choice. The value they bring to the team, of course, is that they are excellent players. We have seen how well they have done in domestic cricket in recent years,” Rathour said of the reinforcements during a press conference. .
“So on these types of wickets, I think they can really add a lot of value to the team.” He added, “If we had to choose just one of them, of course, it would be difficult. But that decision will be taken by Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma.” The playing XI will be defined taking into account the conditions.
“(The pitch) is hard to predict. It will change, maybe not from day one, but eventually it will change. That’s what the wicket looks like.”
“There are no doubts about recovery”
India slipped to fifth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) table following the defeat in Hyderabad and the hosts would be desperate to bounce back here.
Rathour said that more than recovering, players need to learn and move forward.
“There is no question of recovery. You keep learning in every game you play. Of course, we could have done better in batting, bowling and fielding. A lot of discussions and ideas are being shared, preparing well and hoping to do well in the next game.” He expressed confidence in the players’ ability to bounce back and cited India’s unbeaten record in home Test series since 2012.
“We keep talking about our batsmen (about them not scoring enough), but India have won a lot of series at home. We haven’t lost a series at home in 12-13 years.
“This means we are scoring more runs than the other teams. These are tough conditions to score runs, but I’m sure the hitters will find a way.”
“I don’t think the players require too much training”
At this level, Rathour said players just need to act according to the situation.
“Once you get to this level, I don’t think you need too much training. It’s about reading situations and making smarter decisions.
“As long as they ask the right questions and get the right answers, there is no chance of them being overtrained,” he concluded.
Topics mentioned in this article.