Image Credit- BCCI
Rajat Patidar’s childhood dream was to become a fast
bowler. However, in 2014, an ACL injury compelled him to switch to batting.
After ten years, he is about to make his middle-order batting debut in a Test
match. Patidar may be able to fill in at number four or five now that KL Rahul
and Virat Kohli are sidelined.
With an Achilles injury that necessitated surgery in
London, Patidar missed over eight months of action and is still perplexed by
how his life has changed in the previous several months.
“It’s always tough when you get injured,”
Patidar told bcci.tv. “I told myself that I couldn’t do anything about the
time it would take me to recover, I couldn’t change that. So I stayed in the
present and did whatever I could. Getting a call-up [to the Test team] so soon
after recovering from the injury is my happiest moment, because my biggest
dream was always to play Test cricket for my country. So when the call came, I
was very happy. I was with India A, and was happy that what I had dreamed of
had happened.”
Recently, patidar has been in incredible form. In his
most recent first-class match, for India A against the England Lions, he hit a
back-to-the-wall 151. He had scored 111 against the same opponents in a two-day
match the day before. His first call-up to the Test team came last week as a
result of that.
“I have played with many of the players [who are
in the Test team] in domestic cricket. I have been speaking to Rahul [Dravid]
sir when I have been around him,” Patidar said. “I hadn’t spoken much
with Rohit [Sharma] bhai earlier, but got a chance to speak to him about
batting on this tour. He shares his experience. That’s given me
confidence.”
There are other uncapped players in the Test group
besides Patidar. Sarfaraz Khan from Mumbai has also been pounding on doors for
some time. Sarfaraz’s average of 82.40 is higher than that of any hitter in the
world who has amassed 2000 or more first-class runs since 2020. It has taken
some time for Sarfaraz to get called up, but he is overjoyed.
“This game is about patience. If I have to play
Test cricket, I have to be patient,” he told bcci.tv. “There are
times in life when we try to rush into things. I would have tears in my eyes
[when I wasn’t selected]. My abbu [father] told me, ‘keep working hard, no-one
can stop you’. I feel it’s very important to believe in yourself and be
patient. More than myself, I am happy for my father. It’s a matter of great
pride that in a country of over a billion people, I am in the team.”
“I have had a dream that all my India A
team-mates are congratulating me, shaking my hand, coming to greet me. The
dream of being selected to the national team would keep visiting me – I am
playing for India, I am scoring runs… whatever happens, happens for the best.
It’s a dream come true now.”