IND vs ENG: Reason Revealed! Why Rajat Patidar is not playing in 5th test in Dharamshala

In the ongoing five-match test series, Rajat Patidar scored 63 runs in three games against England.

The Indian cricket team announced two changes in the playing XI for the fifth test match against England at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala, with left-handed batter Devdutt Padikkal becoming the 314th player to make his test debut for India in the longest format of the game. The stylish batter replaced Rajat Patidar in the team with captain Rohit Sharma providing a major update at the toss regarding Patidar.

The middle-order batter Patidar came into the playing XI as a replacement for KL Rahul who suffered a hamstring injury during the Hyderabad test. Patidar had struggled with the bat in the ongoing five-match test series so far. The Madhya Pradesh player amassed just 63 runs in three tests at an average of 10.5. This underwhelming performance had led to many experts favouring Devdutt Padikkal for the final test.

Though Patidar’s performance in the series so far wasn’t the best, captain Rohit Sharma had backed the batter in the press conference on the eve of the Dharamshala test. However, the skipper himself revealed that Padikkal will be replacing Patidar in the playing XI because he suffered an injury during practice.

“We would have batted first as well. We have done really well so far in this series and an opportunity to finish on a high. There should be good bounce on this pitch than the games before in this series. Good pitch to bat on and I don’t think it will deteriorate that much. Ash (Ravichandran Ashwin) has been a real stalwart of Indian cricket. Such a proud moment for him, his nation and the family. We will be rooting for him to do the magic,” Indian captain Rohit Sharma said on Thursday morning.

Giving an update on Patidar’s status, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said: “Rajat Patidar got hit on his left ankle during Team India’s practice session on 6th March, 2024. He pulled up sore on the morning of the game and was not available for selection for the 5th Test.”

UPDATE: Rajat Patidar got hit on his left ankle during Team India's practice session on 6th March, 2024. He pulled up sore on the morning of the game and was not available for selection for the 5th Test.#TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank

— BCCI (@BCCI) March 7, 2024

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the Ranchi test due to workload management has returned to the playing XI, replacing young speedster Akash Deep for the final match of the series against England.

Playing XIs For IND vs ENG 5th Test, Dharamshala

India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Ravindra Jadeja, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah

England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes(c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes(w), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood, James Anderson

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