Rajat Patidar opens up on earning India Test call-up: 'Felt very good to get that call'

With KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja ruled out due to injury issues, Rajat Patidar could very well make his Test debut in the second game against England. Patidar, who was part of the India squad for the first match, had to wait for his Test debut as the hosts decided to proceed with KL Rahul at No 4 in absence of Virat Kohli. But with Rahul now injured, Team India management is expected to include Patidar in the playing XI for the second Test scheduled to start on February 2 in Visakhapatnam. Ahead of the second game, Patidar expressed his feelings and emotions during a discussion with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). BCCI shared a video of Patidar’s interaction on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. “Bouncing back after injury. Emotions on maiden Test call-up. Learnings from Captain Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli. In conversation with Rajat Patidar ahead of the 2nd IND vs ENG Test,” read the post shared by BCCI.

Bouncing back after injury 👏
Emotions on maiden Test call-up ✨
Learnings from Captain @ImRo45 & @imVkohli 🙌

In conversation with @rrjjt_01 ahead of the 2nd #INDvENG Test 👌👌#TeamIndia | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/KU4FRyUuW2

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 1, 2024

“It is always hard when a player gets injured. I told myself I cannot change the time it will take to recover. I accepted this fact and worked in the present with a lot of focus. Getting my first Test call up soon after my recovery has to be my happiest moment. It was my dream to represent my country in Test cricket. It felt very good to get that call,” Patidar said. “I was playing India A matches and felt very good on getting that call. Have played with Indian team players in the domestic circuit. Have been interacting with Rahul sir since last two series. I had not spoken a lot with Rohit bhai. But I got to speak with him on this tour about batting. He shared his experience in the nets. All this has increased my confidence. I have an aggressive batting style and have batted like this since my domestic cricket,” he added. Patidar also talked about Virat Kohli’s batting style. The Madhya Pradesh batter expressed what it meant watching Kohli bat. “I always observe his [Kohli] batting from the back of the nets. Especially his footwork and body movement while batting. I enjoy watching him bat. I want to add-on those skills. It is not easy but I am relentlessly after it,” Patidar said. The Indian selectors added Sarfaraz Khan, Saurabh Kumar and Washington Sundar to the squad ahead of the second Test. India had to concede a defeat in the series opener against England. Rohit Sharma’s men will now be aiming for a much-needed win in Visakhapatnam. India’s updated squad for second Test vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar