Veteran South African batsman AB de Villiers has expressed support for Sarfaraz Khan to debut for India in the second Test against England beginning on February 2. The Mumbai player received his first call-up earlier this week after the injuries to Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, who will miss the second game of the five-match test series.
Sarfaraz Khan patiently awaited his first India call-up, and now faces competition against Rajat Patidar to secure a spot in the XI for the second Test. One of them will fill in for KL Rahul, who is unavailable. Rajat Patidar was added to the squad as a replacement for Virat Kohli, who opted out of the first two Tests due to personal reasons.
De Villiers praised Sarfaraz highlighting his statistics in first-class cricket, and stated that he truly deserved the call-up
“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,” De Villiers said on his YouTube channel.
The South African cricket legend mentioned that it is a big opportunity for Sarfaraz on his grand stage.
“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,” he added.
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