WATCH: India's Rajat Patidar Receives His Debut Cap From Zaheer Khan Ahead of Second Test in Visakhapatnam

There truly is no other sensation better than getting that first international cap of yours, and that dream turned into reality for one Rajat Patidar today, who gets to debut for India in the long format in the 2nd Test against England in Visakhapatnam today.

In a video released by BCCI, it can be seen that Patidar was handed over his first international cap from the likes of former Indian bowler and pace sensation Zaheer Khan.

Patidar was named into the Indian squad at the last moment as a replacement for talisman batter Virat Kohli, who stated his unavailability for the first two Test matches against the visitors England, citing personal reasons.

Patidar has been in a rich vein of form lately, having scored twin back-to-back hundreds against the visiting England Lions. He smashed 151 in the first tour game in Ahmedabad last week. He also scored 111 in the warm-up fixture against the Lions and was on the tour to South Africa late last year with the A-side.

The Indore batter, who plays for Madhya Pradesh, has accumulated 4000 runs in 55 First-class games, including 22 fifties and 12 centuries, at an average of 45.97.

Patidar played a massive role in Madhya Pradesh’s maiden Ranji Trophy title win in 2022 where he racked up 658 runs to become the second-highest run-scorer of the season. He was also a performer in the big finale where he scored 122 in the first innings against Mumbai.

Now, following the end of the first game, India were handed an injury concern as all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul were ruled out of the second Test, in addition to the absence of star batter Virat Kohli, who will also take no part in the second fixture of the series.

As a result, Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar and Washington Sundar were added to the squad, while Rajat Patidar also made the cut in the squad ahead of the encounter.

Team India haven’t lost back-to-back Test matches since 2012, and after learning a big lesson from the Hyderabad defeat, India will look to bounce back when they lock horns with England in the second Test, starting today.