Sarfaraz Khan was never meant to play the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand despite his record 222 in the Irani Cup for Mumbai earlier this month. He did make an impressive debut for India in the Test series against England in early 2024, scoring three fifties in five innings. But with KL Rahul back in the format, India backed the veteran batsman ahead of their preparations for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, with Sarfaraz warming the bench in the home series against Bangladesh last month.

However, as Shubman Gill developed a stiff neck on the eve of the first Test against Tom Latham’s men, a position opened up in the middle order, and Sarfaraz grabbed it with both hands. Returning from a dismissal for duck in the first innings, the right-hander roared to a maiden century on day 4 of the match in Bengaluru, helping India close the first-innings deficit to just 12 runs at lunch.

While most praised the Mumbai batsman for his match-changing batting under pressure, many felt that the three-digit score put pressure on Rahul, who is yet to bat in this innings and is on the verge of losing a place in the line-up if he succeeds failed to perform later in the match, especially as India expect Gill to be fit for the second Test against New Zealand.

Rahul, like Sarfaraz, was dismissed for a duck in the first innings in Bengaluru, although he managed a score of 68 at No. 6 for India in the second Test against Bangladesh last week.

Here are some tweets…

‘KL Rahul will be the one under the most pressure’

It’s not just the fans on social media, veteran Indian batsman Manoj Tiwary thought the same after watching Sarfaraz counter-attack on Day 3 of the opening Test, where he finished on an unbeaten 70 while reaching a 136-run stand. alongside former captain Virat Kohli.

Speaking to Cricbuzz after Day 3 proceedings, Tiwary believed Gill would be automatically selected for the No. 3 role if he recovers for the second Test next week after winning big against Bangladesh last month, leaving the team management without could leave problems behind. other option than dropping Rahul after a maiden international hundred from Sarfaraz.

“You can’t remove Shubman Gill now because he scored a hundred in the previous series and he also has a very good record. If he recovers from his stiff neck, he will become an automatic choice. KL Rahul will be the one to fall among most. busy,” said Tiwary.

“Even if Rahul doesn’t score runs in the next two Tests, he will still be preferred for the first Tests in Australia. But if he doesn’t perform well there, Sarfaraz could come into the playing XI. I think Sarfaraz should also get a fair chance. It’s good that the players who are in the reserves are performing. There will definitely be pressure on some players in the playing XI,” he added.