The choice was between Pujara, Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan and Rinku Singh. But on Tuesday night, it was confirmed that Patidar won the race.
The BCCI selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar ended all speculations about Virat Kohli’s replacement by adding Rajat Patidar to the Indian squad for the first two Tests against England. Kohli will miss the two matches in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam due to personal reasons. While requesting to respect Kohli’s privacy, the BCCI, in an official statement, mentioned naming a replacement soon. The choice was between the experienced Cheteshwar Pujara, youngsters Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan and Rinku Singh. But on Tuesday night, it was confirmed that Patidar won the race.
The Madhya Pradesh right-handed batter was spotted in the BCCI annual awards, Naman, with the rest of the Indian team members in Hyderabad. He is unlikely to get his Test cap on Thursday as Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul are set to bat in the middle-order but with India not having any other specialist batter in the reserves, the selectors decided to call up Patidar.(HT)