IND vs ENG: “They play well on spin-friendly pitches” – Aakash Chopra said about Sarfaraz and Patidar
Sarfaraz Khan was included in Team India after the injuries of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja. Sarfaraz Khan and Aakash Chopra. (Photo Source: X(Twitter) The absence of players like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul in the second Test against England has opened the doors for players like Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar. There was talk about Sarfaraz Khan for a long time, but he got a place in the team when KL Rahul got injured. On the other hand, Patidar has also been in contention for a long time but has not yet made his debut in Test cricket. With Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer likely to retain their places in the playing eleven, the Indian team is currently looking to fill the number four position. Sarfaraz and Patidar Both are in contention as one of them may get a chance to debut in Visakhapatnam. Speaking about them, former cricketer Aakash Chopra said that both the cricketers are match-ready and should be considered for their selection as they play well on spin-friendly pitches. Aakash Chopra is demanding to include both Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan in the team. On his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra said, “Rajat Patidar and Sarfaraz Khan add a lot of value to the team. He plays well on spin-friendly pitches and has scored a lot of runs in Ranji Trophy. They are not coming playing white ball cricket, which weakens your defence. They are ready for the match and this is good news for India. They can put England’s spin bowling under pressure.” Let us tell you that the Indian batsman was playing in the second innings of the first test in Hyderabad. England Failed to perform well against the spinners. The middle order batsmen failed to provide stability and looked helpless against England spinner Tom Hartley. He took seven wickets in the second innings and the visiting team won the match by 28 runs. Let us tell you that,Kuldeep Yadav is likely to be included in the playing eleven in place of injured Ravindra Jadeja, while the team management may also consider playing Washington Sundar, who can give more depth to the batting unit.
Looking at what happened in Cape Town, India will not shy away from preparing spin-friendly pitches – Kevin Pietersen
Meanwhile, Pietersen also expressed his concerns about England’s spin options. Jack Leach, with 35 Test match experience, is the most senior spinner in the team, while Rehan Ahmed played only one match. On the other hand, Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley have not yet debuted for the English team. India will not be shy at all in preparing spin friendly pitch – Kevin Pietersen Kevin Pietersen, in his column for The Times, said that the question is, will England be able to perform well with the spinners they have? This will be the thing that decides the series. It’s going to rotate. I actually played in Vizag (Visakhapatnam) recently. It was a T-20 match, there also the ball spun and bounced! “Looking at what happened in Cape Town last week, they won’t be shy about preparing spin-friendly pitches.” In the baseball era, Kevin Pietersen explained the art of defending the ball. He believes that cricketers need to spend time defending in the nets as this will give them the confidence to attack later. He assured that playing defense is not a negative thing as it can help cricketers get settled at the crease sooner. Also read: Yashasvi Jaiswal will now cement his place in the test format