Published: Oct 22, 2024, 04:24 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 22, 2024, 04:29 PM (IST)
India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said on Tuesday that middle-order batters KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan are in a fight for a spot in the Indian team ahead of the second Test against New Zealand. He added that head coach Gautam Gambhir is keen to give the former, a long rope.
“Yeah, there’s no point in sugarcoating it, there’s a fight for a spot. Sarfaraz was obviously brilliant in the last Test. I went to KL after the last Test (and) said how many balls do you play at (and) miss at? He didn’t play at (and) miss at one ball and that’s what tends to happen when you’re not getting runs,” ten Doeschate said.
“There’s certainly no concerns about KL, he’s batting nicely, he’s in a good mental space. But we are certainly going to have to fit seven pieces into six spots for this Test and look at the pitch now and decide what’s going to be best for the team,” ten Doeschate added.
With India looking to bounce back from the eight-wicket thrashing at Bengaluru in the opening Test, focus will be on the team combination with Washington Sundar being added to the squad. The duo of Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant will be looking to shake off their injuries for the match starting on October 24.
Though the assistant coach admitted that it is not easy to keep Rahul in the team because of his poor form, he added that head coach Gambhir is “keen” on still giving him a chance.
“It’s not like we’re worried about his form. If you go on just the past three months since Gauti has been in here, he’s keen to give him (Rahul) as much rope as we can. We have a lot of faith in him,” ten Doeschate said.
“But at the same time, it’s a very competitive environment, with Sarfaraz getting 150 plus runs (222 not out) in the Irani Trophy final. The decision will be what’s best for the team, but we’ll certainly back all the guys in,” ten Doeschate added.
Ten Doeschate also hinted that both Pant and Gill will most likely recover from their injuries and will be available for the second New Zealand Test.
“Rishabh is pretty good. I think Rohit (Sharmna) touched on it the other day. He was having a little bit of discomfort at the end range of his movement with the knee. But fingers crossed, he’ll be good to keep in the Test as well. He (Gill) looks so (available for this Test). He has batted last week in Bangalore, he had a few nets, he’s got a little bit of discomfort, but I think he’ll be good to go for the Test,” ten Doeschate said.
