In a monumental moment for Sarfaraz Khan, the 26-year-old batsman received his Test debut in the third Test match between India and England in Rajkot. Known for his outstanding performances in the domestic circuit, Sarfaraz was bestowed with the Test cap by the iconic spinner Anil Kumble just before the toss.

The absence of Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul paved the way for Sarfaraz to join forces with Rajat Patidar and fellow debutant Dhruv Jurel in the middle order. Sarfaraz’s emotional ceremony witnessed his father shedding tears of pride. Winning the toss, India opted to bat in the third Test of the five-match series against England.

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India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, announced the changes, stating, “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.”

Sarfaraz getting the opportunity and his father’s emotions….what a cinema!! 🙌#INDvsENGTest pic.twitter.com/6IFRxncfJ3

— Sanchal Shanu (@imsanchalshanu) February 15, 2024

He further added, “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.”

I hope Sarfaraz Khan scores a century.pic.twitter.com/FXARZUINc2

— . (@Pushpa__07) February 15, 2024

The series, tied at 1-1, coincided with England captain Ben Stokes marking his 100th Test appearance. India introduced Sarfaraz Khan, a prolific scorer in Mumbai’s domestic cricket, and the young wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel, who replaced KS Bharat in the playing eleven. England, in response, brought back pacer Mark Wood in place of young spinner Shoaib Bashir.

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India’s XI: 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’s XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson.