“He cannot afford to waste this opportunity” – Harbhajan Singh on Sarfaraz Khan ahead of IND vs ENG 2nd Test

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh feels Sarfaraz Khan can not afford to waste this opportunity. Khan was added to India’s Test squad after KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja were ruled out. The youngster has been performing consistently at the domestic circuit in the last couple of years and deserves his chance at the top level.

Khan has amassed 3912 runs at an average of 69.85 in 45 first-class games and recently scored a fine knock of 161 runs off just 160 balls against England Lions in the second unofficial Test for India A.

With Rahul not being in the middle order, Khan can make his much-anticipated debut against England.

Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube Channel, “Sarfaraz Khan will have to make the most of this chance because when Virat Kohli returns, someone will have to go out. So, he cannot afford to waste this opportunity. He has worked very hard and piled up a lot of runs in domestic cricket.”

The Turbanator reckons India’s batting looks very weak after Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul have been ruled out.

“India’s batting looks very weak. Rohit Sharma is the only experienced batter in the squad. After him, if you look at the stats, Ravichandran Ashwin has the most runs under his belt.”

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli has withdrawn from the first two Test matches due to personal reasons and Bhajji reckons India’s batting unit would have looked better if the talisman had been there.

“There is a lack of experience in this Indian batting lineup. The batting would have looked a lot stronger had Virat Kohli been there. The likes of Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have also struggled to get going lately.”

With Rahul and Jadeja getting ruled out, Harbhajan feels the situation is getting complicated for India.

“Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul were in great form. If you deduct their contributions from the first Test, imagine what would have been the case. It is getting more and more complicated for India, as there is still no clarity over their return,” the 43-year-old added.

The second Test match between India and England will be played at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam from 2nd February.