Rajat Patidar could make his Test debut in India’s second match against England in Visakhapatnam. Patidar received his maiden Test call-up ahead of the first match as a replacement for former captain Virat Kohli, who is unavailable for the first two matches.
Patidar was sidelined for most of 2023 due to an Achilles injury. It required surgery in London and a lengthy recovery period and Patidar said that it wasn’t an easy period for him. “Being injured is always a difficult time for any player. I was just thinking that I cannot change my recovery time now. So I just accepted this fact and was just focussing on what I could do at the time,” said Patidar on bcci.tv.
Patidar has been a regular in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and shares a dressing room with Virat Kohli at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). He said that he didn’t get to interact with India captain Rohit Sharma, who led Mumbai Indians until last season.
“I have played with a lot of India players in the domestic circuit. I had been talking to Rahul (Dravid) sir since the last two series. I hadn’t spoken with Rohit bhai too much before but on this tour I got to speak with him about batting. He shared his experience in the nets. All this has increased my confidence,” he said.
‘First dream was to play Test cricket’
Patidar became a household name due to his performances for He made his ODI debut against South Africa in Paarl last December but Patidar has said that his ultimate aim has always been to play Test cricket for India.
He has been active in the Indian domestic circuit for nearly a decade, having made his debut for Madhya Pradesh in 2015. He has scored 4000 runs so far in 55 matches at an average of 45.97 with 12 centuries and 22 half-centuries to his name. “To get my first Test callup after injury is something that makes me very happy. My first dream was always to represent India in Test cricket. I was playing matches for India A when I got that call and it felt great,” he said.
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