IND vs ENG: Suryakumar Yadav Calls for 'Utsav Ki Taiyaarrii' After Sarfaraz Khan Gets Maiden India Call-up

Suryakumar Yadav took to social media to celebrate Sarfaraz Khan’s maiden India call-up with an Instagram story on Monday.

“Maiden India Call. Ustav ki taiyaarrii karo,” SKY posted.

Sarfaraz has got his well-deserved, but long-awaited maiden call-up to the Indian Test team. Sarfaraz, a prolific run-getter in the last three seasons of domestic cricket for Mumbai, recently smashed a brilliant 161 as India A defeated England Lions by an innings and 16 runs in the second four-day match in Ahmedabad.

Sarfaraz Khan was named in the India squad for the second Test of the five-match series against England, along with left-arm spinner Sourabh Kumar and all-rounder Washington Sundar.

The trio were added after all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and key batsman K.L. Rahul out due to injury for the clash at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, which starts on February 2.

With Virat Kohli already unavailable for the first two Tests due to personal reasons, the injuries to Jadeja and Rahul have made matters worse for India, who find themselves under pressure after losing only their fourth Test at home since 2013.

Both Rahul and Jadeja had made significant contributions in the first Test before England staged a remarkable comeback to win the game by 28 runs and go 1-0 up in the five-match series. Jadeja snapped up five wickets and made 87 in the first innings while Rahul scored 86.

Jadeja’s all-round abilities are invaluable to the team. Off-spinner Sundar, who has shown a lot of promise in his four-Test old career, could replace Jadeja in the playing eleven.

Ever since making his comeback from injury in the Asia Cup in September, Rahul has displayed stellar form in the ODI and Test format. Keeping wickets in the ODI World Cup and more recently in the Test series in South Africa added to his workload.

Though Sarfaraz has got a well-deserved call-up, the chances of Rajat Patidar, who was already part of the 15, making his debut in Vizag are higher.

With Sundar being drafted into the Test, Saransh Jain has been named as his replacement in the India ‘A’ squad for the third and final multi-day game against England Lions starting on Thursday in Ahmedabad.

(With inputs from Agencies)