Team India captain Rohit Sharma has openly stated that he has not watched Sarfaraz Khan bat much. He did, however, add that he has learned from players in Mumbai that the middle-order batsman would do his job because he has the necessary expertise.
With KL Rahul ruled out of the third Test against England in Rajkot, Sarfaraz was given his long-awaited Test debut. The latter seized his opportunity, hitting 62 in the first innings before being run out under difficult circumstances. In the second innings, he scored an unbeaten 68 from 72 balls.
Rohit discussed Sarfaraz’s fantastic Test debut at the post-match presentation following India’s record 434-run victory against England in Rajkot.
“I haven’t seen Sarfaraz bat that much. But all the people I’ve heard from, the players who are from Mumbai, (that) he’s made runs in a lot of difficult situations for Mumbai. He’s hungry for runs and for the last 4-5 years, he’s continuously made runs in domestic cricket, so (that means) he’s doing something good.”
Rohit Sharma
When asked whether the debutant received any particular instructions, Rohit responded:
“We didn’t discuss any plans with him. Because I know that if you let him be, he’ll do his job, which I’ve heard from the players from Mumbai.”
Rohit Sharma
While Sarfaraz Khan had an outstanding Test debut, another young Mumbai batsman, Yashasvi Jaiswal, maintained his excellent form by scoring his second double-hundred in as many Tests.
Refusing to address the left-hander in too much detail, Rohit stated:
“I won’t say anything about Jaiswal now, everyone is talking about him. Let him play. He’s playing well and (that) is good for us. He’s in good form. I’m not going to say much more than that.”
Rohit Sharma
In seven Tests, Jaiswal has 861 runs at an average of 71.75, with three hundreds and two fifties.
Rohit Sharma Backs Jadeja’s Batting Elevation After Impressive Knock
While the youthful guns did an excellent job for India in Rajkot, homeboy and seasoned all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was named Player of the Match after making a century and capturing five wickets.
Batting first, India was struggling at 33/3 when the hosts chose to elevate Jadeja to No. 5. He scored 112 and shared 204 for the fourth wicket with Rohit (131).
The Indian skipper gave the following explanation when asked why Jadeja was promoted during the first innings:
“If you see the past couple of years, he’s actually come out and scored some crucial runs for us. Whether it’s in India or outside India as well. He’s batting really well and the confidence is there with the bat, which is why we thought of sending him up the order as well (in the first innings).”
Rohit Sharma
During the Test, Ravindra Jadeja became the third Indian (after Kapil Dev and Ravichandran Ashwin) to score 3,000 runs and take 250 or more wickets in the red ball format.