"I hope India’s more main players get injured" - Fans fume as Sarfaraz Khan is snubbed for the 2nd IND vs ENG Test 

The build-up to the second Test between India and England saw a raging selection debate among fans regarding who among the uncapped duo of Sarfaraz Khan and Rajat Patidar should replace the injured KL Rahul.

Following the toss in Vishakapatnam on Friday, February 2, where Rohit Sharma opted to bat first, Patidar has seemingly won the race, earning his debut. Sarfaraz Khan, on the other hand, still awaits his first taste of international cricket despite scoring copious runs on the domestic circuit.

Despite persistent issues in Team India's Test middle-order in the recent past, the 26-year-old has had to wait on the sidelines. He was not considered for the nation's previous home series against Australia in 2023, despite being in a rich vein of form.

He had talked about his wait to be selected for the national team ahead of the second Test against England.

“The game is all about patience. If we have to play Test cricket, we have to be patient. In life, there are times when we rush ourselves. I would get emotional about my wait to get into the team. My father would always say, keep working hard and you would be unstoppable. Having self-belief and patience are very important," Sarfaraz said in a video released by the BCCI

Several fans were far from pleased with Patidar leapfrogging Sarfaraz to earn his national team cap, and a section of fans were also not pleased with Gill and Iyer retaining their place, leading to the uncapped player's prolonged wait on the sidelines. Here are some of their reactions on X (formerly Twitter):

Sarfaraz Khan recently scored a century against England Lions in Ahmedabad

The right-handed batter continued his excellent form with a brilliant 161 in India 'A''s second unofficial Test against the England Lions in Ahmedabad, which they won by an innings and 16 runs.

He had also scored 96 runs in the two-day tour match against the England Lions to kickstart the shadow tour.

Team India have made a total of three changes to their playing XI from the defeat in Hyderabad. While two of those were forced upon them due to KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja's injuries, they have also decided to rest Mohammed Siraj and replace him with Mukesh Kumar.

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mukesh Kumar

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes(w), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, James Anderson

Have India made the right decision to consider Patidar over Sarfaraz for the second Test against England? Let us know what you think.