Saurabh Kumar has earned a place in India’s Test squad as a replacement for Ravindra Jadeja in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship series against England. The first Test of the series happened in Hyderabad, where the Indian team lost by 28 runs. After the match, BCCI issued a statement that Jadeja was injured and unavailable for the second Test.
Even KL Rahul was unavailable. Hence, BCCI added three players to the squad for the second Test match, namely Washington Sundar, Saurabh Kumar and Sarfaraz Khan. While Khan may replace Rahul in the playing XI, Kumar is likely to take the place of Jadeja. Before Kumar makes his Test debut, here’s a list of four things fans should know about him.
1. Saurabh Kumar is a left-arm spinner and left-handed batter
Just like Ravindra Jadeja, Kumar is a left-arm spin bowler and a left-handed batter. He is a spin-bowling all-rounder, who has the experience of playing 68 first-class matches, where he has aggregated 2,061 runs and picked up 290 wickets.
2. Saurabh Kumar has been a part of same IPL team as MS Dhoni
Not many fans would know that Kumar has been a part of two IPL franchises, namely Punjab Kings and Rising Pune Supergiant. He was with RPS in the 2017 season, where big names like MS Dhoni, Steve Smith, Manoj Tiwary and Lockie Ferguson were some of his teammates.
3. Kumar has a 5-wicket haul in all 3 formats
Kumar is one of the few Indian uncapped bowlers to have taken a five-wicket haul in first-class, List-A and T20 cricket. His best figures in first-class are 8/64, in List-A they are 6/25 and in T20s, they are 5/28.
4. Kumar took a 5-wicket haul in his last match
Kumar has been in fine form recently. He was a member of the India ‘A’ team which played in unofficial Test matches against England Lions in Ahmedabad last week. In his last innings, Kumar bowled a fantastic spell of 5/104, which shows that he has confidence by his side.
