Indian cricket team have handed out debuts to batter Sarfaraz Khan and wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel in the third Test at the Niranjan Shah stadium in Rajkot against England on Thursday, February 15.(Scorecard | IND Vs ENG Blog | Cricket News)
Khan received his maiden India Test cap from Anil Kumble ahead of the match in Rajkot, much to the delight of his parents, who were present and visibly emotional at his accomplishment.
It was a proud moment for the Khan family, who have enjoyed a splendid start to the new year, with the younger of the two siblings, Musheer Khan, starring for the India under-19 national cricket team in the already concluded ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2024.
Moments after Khan's ceremony, Jurel received his first Test cap for the India national team. Dinesh Karthik presented the young Jurel with the adornment, before the team resumed their pre-match warm-up in a wintery Rajkot.
Earlier, India won the toss and elected to bat against England in the third Test of the five-match series on Thursday. The series is locked at 1-1 as England captain Ben Stokes is appearing in his 100th Test.
Playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes(c), Ben Foakes (wk), Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson.
