India’s preparation for the World Test Championship 2023 final has been disrupted as KL Rahul sustained an injury while fielding during a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2023 tournament.
Rahul has already been ruled out of the IPL 2023 remaining matches. The player will have a scan in Mumbai and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will decide on the matter after receiving the scan results.
Rahul’s absence in the final would be a significant setback for India, as he was the team’s third-highest scorer in the previous Test series against England, with 315 runs to his credit. If he is unable to recover in time, the selectors will have a daunting task of finding a suitable replacement. In this article, we take a look at 2 potential replacements who can replace KL Rahul in the Indian Test team.
Hanuma Vihari
With captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill likely to open the inning, we have gone with 2 middle-order batters instead. And the first of whom is none other than experienced campaigner Hanuma Vihari. Vihari had been a strong presence in the Indian Test team whenever he played.
However, he was unfortunate dropped from the team with the emergence of more young talented players. It would now be a great opportunity to get Vihari back in the team. He has played 16 Test matches for India and has scored 839 runs with a average of 42.
Sarfaraz Khan
Another middle-order batsman Team India can call-up is Sarfaraz Khan. He has been a consistent performer for a while now and has been trying to get into the Indian Test team without success. In the Ranji Trophy 2022-23, he scored 556 runs in nine innings, averaging 92.66 with three centuries and one half-century.
Since 2019, the 25-year-old has been in a dream run in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 2466 runs at a staggering average of 123.3, including ten centuries and five fifties. Considering his exceptional domestic record, it is high time for the selectors to give Sarfaraz a chance to prove himself at the international level.
