Sarfaraz Khan made his long-awaited Test debut for the India team in the third Test against England at the Niranjan Shah stadium in Rajkot starting from February 15, Thursday. (Scorecard | IND Vs ENG Blog | Cricket News)
The 26-year-old received his maiden cap from former Indian captain Anil Kumble ahead of the 3rd Test between India and England in Rajkot on Thursday, February 15.
He becomes the 311th player to make his debut for Team India in Tests.
There were emotional scenes as Sarfaraz's father Naushad Khan, got emotional as the father of two was unable to control his tears. Naushad along with Sarfaraz's wife, were at the Niranjan Shah stadium in Rajkot on Thursday as they watched the cap presentation ceremony that also included Dhruv Jurel, who was handed his cap by Dinesh Karthik.
Earlier, India had won the toss and elected to bat against England in the third Test of the five-match series on Thursday. The series is locked at 1-1 as England captain Ben Stokes is appearing in his 100th Test.
Speaking at the toss, Rohit Sharma said, "We're going to bat first. We've made some changes, made four changes. Some injuries and some guys coming back from the last game. Two debutants. Siraj and Jadeja are back. Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar miss out. Looks a good pitch, better than the last two we've played on. Rajkot is known to be a good pitch but it'll deteriorate as it goes. The guys have stood up and done the job for the team when it was needed. The next three Test matches will be as exciting as the first two. Need to keep our focus here and see how we can do well."
On Sarfaraz, the Mumbai batter has had a terrific First-Class career with the bat. In 45 FC matches, he has amassed 3912 runs at an average of 69.85. This also includes 14 tons and 11 half-centuries.
Sarfaraz was with the India A side that were involved in Test action against the England Lions. He scored a fifty and followed it up with a 161in the second game to take the series 2-0.
The 26-year-old received a call-up to the side after Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, pulled out of the Vizag Test due to injuries.
Playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
