In the second Test match against England, India’s batting coach Vikram Rathour stated on Wednesday that choosing between Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar “will be tough”. India, the hosts, will play this Friday in an attempt to even the score after losing the first game of the series in Hyderabad. Along with the absence of top batsman Virat Kohli, injuries to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul for the second Test compounded India’s worries after the first match. Because of this, the selectors were compelled to include Rajat Patidar and the uncapped players Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar, and Washington Sundar in the squad.
“It will be a tough choice. What value they bring to the team, of course, is that they are superb players. We have seen how well they have done in domestic cricket in the last few years,” Rathour mentioned in a press conference.
“So on these kind of wickets, I think they can really add a lot of value to the team.” He continued, “If we have to pick just one out of them, of course, it would be tough. But, that decision will be made by Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma.”
“It (pitch) is difficult to predict. It will turn, maybe not from the first day, but eventually, it will turn. That’s how the wicket looks like.”
Any scope for recovery?
After the defeat in Hyderabad, India dropped to fifth place in the World Test Championship (WTC) standings, therefore the hosts would be eager to win this match.
“There’s no question of recovery. You keep learning every game that 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.”
“We keep talking about our batters (not scoring enough), but India has been winning a lot of series at home. We haven’t lost a series at home for 12-13 years.
“It means we are putting up more runs than the other teams. These are tough conditions to score runs, but I’m sure that the batters will find a way.”
Coaching tactics and requirement
“Once you come to this level, I don’t think you require too much coaching. It’s about reading the situations and making smarter decisions.
“As long as they are asking the right questions and receiving the right answers, there is no chance of over-coaching,” he wrapped up.
