India will play 5th Test match against England from March 7 in Dharamsala and Devdutt Padikkal will be the fifth India to make India debut in ongoing Test series.
New Delhi: India have already sealed the ongoing Test series after winning three out of four Test matches against England. Now both sides will lock horns against each other for the fifth Test match which is scheduled to be played at HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
This team India have so many youngsters and debutants and now reports are coming in that in form Ranji batter Devdutt Padikkal will also make his Test debut in the upcoming Test match against England.
Wicketkeeper batter KL Rahul who was featured in the first Test match against England has missed all the clashes because of injury and now there are fewer chances for him to regain fitness before the upcoming Test match at Dharamsala.
Indian Test bound Team are currently on a break after winning the fourth Test match. Now, the team will assemble in Chandigarh on Saturday before the fifth Test match.
As Virat Kohli is not featuring in the Test series citing personal reasons and in the absence of former India captain KL Rahul will be the ideal candidate to bat at No.4 but since he is also recovering from an injury BCCI added Rajat Patidar.
The Madhya Pradesh cricketer made his debut in the second Test in Vizag and gave a good account of himself in the first innings with a fluent 32. Bit after that Patidar is unable to perform as it was expected as he scored 9, 5, 0, 17 and 0 in the next five innings.
Madhya Pradesh will play the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Vidarhbha on Saturday and the selectors will look to release Patidar from the Test squad so he can play Domestic cricket for his state.
In this scnerio Padikkal will make his debut and he will be the fifth Indian to make the debut in ongoing Test series against England. The other debutants of this series are Patidar, keeper Dhurv Jurel, batter Sarfaraz Khan and fast bowler Akash Deep.
“Padikkal will make his debut in Dharamsala. Rahul is unlikely to be available and the team management wants to have a look at Padikkal as it is the last international fixture before the IPL,” a BCCI source told Hindustan Times.