'Pressure on KL Rahul But Will Play Him': Parthiv Patel Shares Thoughts on Selection Dilemma Ahead of Second Test Against New Zealand

Team India suffered a shock defeat at the hands of New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday as the hosts were defeated by the touring Kiwis by 8 wickets.

Hometown boy KL Rahul couldn’t make an impact on the game as he was sent back to the hut for a duck and 12 runs respectively in the game. While Sarfaraz Khan learnt from his mistakes of a first-innings duck to come back strong with a 150-run showing in the second to support the Indian attempt back into the game.

Indian batter Shubman Gill, who sat the first Test out citing a stiff neck, could return for the second Test against the Kiwis, which could put the side in a tricky spot in picking between Rahul and Sarfaraz.

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Former Indian opener Parthiv Patel, however, opined that the side would err on the side of Rahul despite Sarfaraz’s impressive knock. Team India have backed the wicketkeeper batter in red-ball cricket in recent times.

“The question will be whether Sarfaraz Khan will get to play or they will go with KL Rahul. I will still play KL Rahul, the way the team has shown faith in him. I am thinking like that based on how the team’s thinking has been,” the southpaw said.

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Rahul batted at No.6 instead of the Number 3 position following the reshuffle in Bengaluru, as Virat Kohli came in when the team was one down in both innings.

“If you wanted, you could have made Rahul bat at No. 3 in this Test match but you said that you didn’t want to change his position,”

“Nothing to take from Sarfaraz’s knock, he made 150 runs for sure, but it’s the same situation as Mohammed Siraj or Akash Deep. There will definitely be pressure on KL Rahul but I would still play him,” Patel said.