Rajat Patidar on verge of getting released from India squad for fifth Test against England - Reports

The star Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar on the back of his brilliant performances in First-Class cricket, made his Test debut for India in the ongoing five-match series against England. He played his first match in the second Test of the five-match series against the Three Lions.

Patidar replaced the injured KL Rahul, who sustained a quadriceps injury in the first Test of the series. However, the MP batter couldn’t live up to the expectations and failed to deliver when it was required for India in the crucial situations against England.

KL Rahul expected to replace Rajat Patidar in the fifth Test

He has scored only 62 runs in the 6 innings of the three matches he has played so far in the series, with a very poor average of only 10.33. Meanwhile, the media reports have learned that the Indian Cricket Board is looking ahead to release Rajat Patidar from the Indian squad ahead of the fifth and last Test of the five-match series against England.

The decision from the Indian Cricket Board will be confirmed once the senior batter KL Rahul gets fully fit and available for the final assignment of the series. KL Rahul will be directly replacing Rajat Patidar as the management will not be looking ahead to omit Sarfaraz Khan who had a good start with the bat in both the innings of his debut match, with 62 and 68 runs, respectively.

Speaking of the current scoreline of the series, the hosts India have already taken an unassailable lead of 3-1 in the five-match series with three consecutive wins after a defeat in the first Test. Now, both teams will be taking on each other in the fifth and last Test of the series at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, starting on March 7, 2024. Notably, it is the first time that the ‘Bazball’ under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum has lost a Test series.