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Though debutants like Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel and Akash Deep have impressed during the ongoing Test series against England, Rajat Patidar has failed to perform. The right-handed batsman has managed to score 63 runs from six innings so far. Under the circumstance, the clamour of leaving Patidar out of the XI has grown louder.
However, former South Africa great AB de Villiers has jumped in to point out that given the culture that exists in the team, Patidar might just retain his place.
As per De Villiers, unlike the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri reign, the Rohit Sharma-Rahul Dravid era believes in giving its players a longer run, and given that India have already captured the series, Patidar could get another shot to prove his worth.
“Rajat Patidar is not having the series of a lifetime or the one to remember. However, the good thing about this Indian team and the culture is that you will survive in that side because of the great cricket they are playing and the results coming their way,” said De Villiers on his official YouTube channel.
The former Mr 360 degree batter believes that if Patidar’s head and heart are in the right place, Rohit and Dravid may be tempted to persist with him.
“If Patidar’s attitude is catchy and if he is a likable character in the dressing room, Rohit and the selection panel will have the ability to say, ‘Hold on, we do believe this guy has a future and we see him as a part of the team moving forward. Even though he hasn’t been scoring runs, let’s give him a longer run,” said the former unorthodox batsman.
