“He Has Worked Very Hard”: Harbhajan Hails Sarfaraz Khan After Getting Maiden Test Call-Up

New Delhi [India] : After Sarfaraz Khan received his maiden Test call-up in the India squad, former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh heaped praise on the 26-year-old and said that he has worked very hard to be in this place.

Sarfaraz had a magnificent run with the India A side and in domestic cricket in recent times, which helped him attract the selectors’ attention.

While speaking on his official YouTube channel, Harbhajan opined that Sarfaraz has to use this opportunity since once the former India skipper Virat Kohli returns to the playing eleven one of the players has to make space for him.

“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,” Harbhajan said while speaking on his official YouTube channel.

Talking about the first Test match between India and England in Hyderabad, he added that the batting lineup of the hosts looked “very weak”.

“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,” the 43-year-old added.

The former India cricketer added that the former India skipper’s presence would have made the batting squad stronger. He also pointed out that Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer “struggled” in the first Test match.

“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,” he further added.

Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul were taken off from the squad after they sustained injuries. Following that Sarfaraz, Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar to India’s squad. Jadeja suffered a hamstring injury during play on Day 4 of the first Test in Hyderabad. Meanwhile, Rahul complained of right quadriceps pain.

India’s updated Squad for 2nd Test vs England: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar.