India is likely to give a debut to Sarfaraz Khan or Rajat Patidar in the second Test against England starting from February 2 in Vizag. Rajat is a front-runner as he was included in the team as a replacement for Virat Kohli. He was preferred over Sarfaraz, who made it to the team after KL Rahul was ruled out due to an injury.
Patidar recently spoke about taking inspiration from Virat Kohli. Rajat, who shared a dressing room with Virat while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), often observes Virat by standing at the back of the nets.
In a video shared by the BCCI, he spoke about Virat, Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid.
“I stand at the back of the nets to watch Virat Kohli’s batting, especially his footwork and body movement. I enjoy watching him practice. I want to adopt that skills, but it is not easy,” he said.
Patidar also observes India captain Rohit Sharma.
“I like to be aggressive against the bowlers, and I have followed this procedure since my career started. I study the ways the rival bowlers bowl. I also observed Rohit bhai dealing with the field position of the other team. I am adding those learnings into my game,” he added.
Talking with Rohit Sharma and Rahul dravid has increased my confidence, says Rajat Patidar
Rajat also spoke about his interaction with head coach Rahul Dravid and how talking to Rohit has increased his confidence.
‘I have ben talking to Rahul sir a lot. I also talked to Rohit Bhai in the net sessions. He shared his experiences with me, increasing my confidence.”
Rajat Patidar was ruled out of IPL 2023 due to an injury. “It is not easy to deal with the injuries. I accepted this fact because I knew it would take time to heal. I was called up to the Test team soon after recovering from my injury,” he concluded.
In the first unofficial Test between India A and England Lions, Rajat scored 151 runs.