Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan make Test debuts in Rajkot, India decide to bat

Anil Kumble and Dinesh Karthik handed out Test cap No 311 and 312 to Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel in Rajkot on Thursday. Both the players were in line to come into the Indian cricket team for the third Test against England. **India vs England 3rd Test Day 1 LIVE** To make the moment even more special for Sarfaraz, his father and coach Naushad Khan was brought in near the sidelines as Kumble handed the Mumbai batter the cap. Naushad got emotional during the milestone moment and the proud father shed a tear. While Kumble handed out the Test cap to Sarfaraz, wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik did the honours for Dhruv Jurel while Team India formed a huddle ahead of the Test with the series locked at 1-1. “Sarfu, really proud of you, the way you have come through. I am sure your dad and your family will be extremely proud of what you have been able to achieve. I know you have done all the hard work,” Kumble said in the team huddle. “There were some disappointments but despite that, all the runs you have scored through the domestic season - well done to you. I am sure you will have lots of wonderful memories today. (This is the) start of a long career, only 310 people have played before you, and this is for you. Good luck,” he added. Sarfaraz later showed his India cap to his father and coach Naushad Khan who was overwhelmed with emotions and broke down . Sarfaraz was also seen wiping off his wife’s happy tears at the venue. Sarfaraz had been knocking on the doors of the Indian cricket team entry for some time now with explosive record in Ranji Trophy. In 45 first-class matches, Sarfaraz has collected 3912 runs at a staggering average of 69.85. He scored 14 hundreds and 11 fifties during this time and also impressed for the India ‘A’ side against England Lions. For India ‘A’, Sarfaraz scored a fifty in the first unofficial Test and followed it up with an impressive 161 in the second. Sarfaraz had been brought into the squad ahead of the second Test but didn’t make an appearance as Rajat Patidar got the nod for an inclusion into the playing XI. The absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul from the third Test has forced the selectors into going for a young middle-order in Rajkot. As Jurel comes into the Test side, having already made his India debut in the T20I format, it means KS Bharat sits out. Bharat made a couple of noticeable mistakes as stumper and failed to convert his starts into a sizeable knock with the bat. Karthik shared interesting anecdotes and statistics while making his speech during the cap presentation to Jurel. “Coming from Agra, moving to Noida at a very young age, your mother being with you all the tough things that must have happened in the journey, there must have been so many people through that journey who would have really helped you. I am sure all of them would be watching today,” he said. “You must have played a lot of matches in different colours, mainly blue, but there is something divine and pure about wearing the whites and representing India in Test cricket. It is the toughest format of the game, it is relentless but there is tremendous satisfaction that comes when you do well in this format,” Karthik added. Karthik said doing well in Test cricket is paramount for every cricketer and wished Jurel to have success like his teammate Rinku Singh. “Your dad is watching today who is your biggest hero and he will be really proud and happy like everybody else are,” he said. “Everybody’s journey is different and what you have done in this short duration of time and achieved let us take an example, Rinku Singh, who has been your roommate for sometime now and (also) your housemate,” Karthik revealed. “He has done some special things in the last six months and may you do special things as well,” the former India stumper added. Karthik pulled up some numbers to highlight how rare it is to get to play Test cricket for India. “Not many have played this format. I tell you that in the last 10 years, as a commentator I took up some stats: 65 people have played T20Is, 56 have played ODIs but just 30 have managed to play Test cricket,” he said. “This is the toughest form and very hard to get in. What you have achieved is really special and may you stay here long and do really well,” Karthik added. In other team news, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj have returned into the playing XI for India. With the duo coming back into the lineup, Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar have been pushed out. For England, as had already been revealed on Wednesday, Mark Wood has come in with Shoaib Bashir sitting out .

🚨 Toss Update 🚨

Captain @ImRo45 wins the toss and #TeamIndia have opted to bat in Rajkot 🙌

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/FM0hVG5X8M#INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/P6iiLyHjvR

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 15, 2024

At the toss, Rohit Sharma made the right call and India decided to bat. The five-match Test series stands at 1-1 with England winning the opener in Hyderabad and the hosts roared back in Visakhapatnam. Rohit said, “We’ve made four changes. Some injuries, some guys coming back. Two debutants: Dhruv Jurel and Sarfaraz Khan. Siraj and Jadeja are back. Axar and Mukesh miss out. “Good pitch, better than the last two ones we played in. We know Rajkot is supposed to be a good pitch, will behave differently as the game goes on. Good toss to win. “We played well as a group. Guys stood up when they had to last game. The next three games will be as exciting as the first two. You can’t keep the bigger picture in mind. We’ll have to keep focus on what we can do here and come out on top,” he added. England captain Ben Stokes said they’d have batted too. Playing his 100th Test match, he said, “Time does fly when you’re having fun. Series in nicely balanced, it’s a fair reflection of both teams. We’re happy with how things have gone. It’s been a nice break which helped us refresh. There was no cricket, we got the families out in Dubai. Cricket can be physically and mentally demanding, so it was a great opportunity to get away from cricket and get the feet up. “The great thing about Test matches is there are so many moments where things can change and India came out on top,” while speaking about the previous clash. India XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson