AB de Villiers was thrilled. Sarfaraz Khan got his first India invite. This was after he joined India’s team for the ongoing five-match series at home against England. It was for the second Test.
Pointing out Sarfaraz’s superb first-class cricket history, the past South African captain voiced that this young player has earned his place on India’s Test team. With wishes for the 26-year-old to face his Test initiation against England, AB de Villiers shared this thought via his recent YouTube video:
“It’s just very exciting for me. His record in first-class cricket is quite outstanding, and if there’s a guy that deserves it, it’s certainly him. He has played 66 innings, 3912 runs, and an average of 69.85. 14 hundreds and 11 fifties, guys, that is not normal.
“That is a very, very good first-class record. I know it’s a big jump up to international cricket against England, on the biggest stage, I hope he gets a chance because Rajat Patidar has also been playing well.”
AB de Villiers
Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, and Sourabh Kumar are stepping in for India. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, key players, can’t play due to injuries. They’ll miss the next Test.
The opening Test game in Hyderabad didn’t go well for our team. Falling short by 28 runs, we faced an unexpected loss. The Men in Blue were targeting 231 runs in the fourth innings but only made it to 202 runs by the end of Day 4.
“It can only be Kuldeep Yadav” – AB de Villiers on Ravindra Jadeja’s replacement
With Ravindra Jadeja ruled out, AB de Villers believes India should include Kuldeep Yadav in the starting XI because his wrist spin adds variety to the team’s bowling assault.
AB De Villiers said:
“It can only be Kuldeep Yadav, who doesn’t offer as much with the bat or in the field, but he does have a lot of X-factor with the ball in hand. He maybe gives India a little bit of extra variation with the bowling department because you had Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja there, two left-arm spinners.”
AB de Villiers
Still, replacing Jadeja isn’t easy, said an old cricket player. The reason? Jadeja’s skills cover a wide range. De Villiers pointed out:
“I don’t think we all understand how big a loss Ravindra Jadeja is going into the second Test match. The guy is a superstar. I thought he would do more in that first Test match first of all, but generally speaking, he is fast, wicket-to-wicket and some of the balls turn and some don’t.
“With the ball in hand, we have seen him take 10-fers and 5-fers under pressure. He is not easy to replace. Incredible in the field, he is fast, helps the captain, and gets you run outs, but the big loss, I think, is with the bat in hand.”
AB de Villiers
India and England’s second Test will happen at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. It’s in Visakhapatnam. Dates? February 2 to 6.