Sarfaraz Handed Test Cap, Father In Tears

It was a huge moment for Sarfaraz Khan as the 26-year-old batter was handed his debut ahead of the third Test match between India and England in Rajkot on Thursday. Sarfaraz enjoyed an exceptional run of form in the domestic circuit over the last couple of years and he was handed his Test cap by legendary spinner Anil Kumble just before the toss. With Shreyas Iyer, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul all missing out, Sarfaraz will partner with Rajat Patidar and fellow debutant Dhruv Jurel in the middle order.

Sarfaraz's father Naushad Khan was present at the ground and he could not control his tears during the ceremony. He was emotional after his son was handed a Test debut for India During his time in the commentary box,

Naushad Khan was asked by Aakash Chopra if he felt that his son had to wait too long to make his debut. In response, Naushad delivered a poetic reply--Raat ko waqt chahiye guzarne ke liye, leankin Suraj meri marzi se nahi nikalne wala (it takes time for the night to pass, the sun is not going to rise according to my wish). His words resonated with the struggles and patience often required on the path to achieving one's dreams,

India won the toss and elected to bat against England in the third Test of the five-match series.

India handed debuts to middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan and young wicketkeeper batter Dhruv Jurel, who will replace KS Bharat in the playing eleven, while England have brought back pacer Mark Wood in place of young spinner Shoaib Bashir.

Teams:

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.