‘Waiting for so long is common in Indian cricket’ - Rajat Patidar opens up after Test debut against England

Rajat Patidar made his Test debut for India in the second Test of the five-match series against England. Despite doing well in the domestic circuit, Patidar had to wait for his opportunity as the middle order was stacked with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane. With Kohli and KL Rahul currently not available for selection, Patidar was called up as former cricketer Zaheer Khan handed him his maiden cap. 

Batting at number five, he built a crucial partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal before getting out on 32 runs. Meanwhile speaking about his late debut for the national team, Patidar stated that the waiting line is very big in Indian cricket as there are a lot of players in contention. He mentioned feeling good after the debut and added that there was no pressure on him as he slept well on the night before his big day.

“Waiting for so long is common in Indian cricket. There are lot of players. I was just focusing on things that are in my hands. So at the age of 30, I came here, feeling pretty good,” Patidar was quoted as saying by India Today.

“Going into the middle, there was no pressure as I have played a lot of games in domestic cricket. I slept well last night. It was normal for me,” he added.

Yashasvi has special ability in him: Patidar

Youngster Jaiswal stole the show on Day 1 of the second Test against England. The opener smashed 179* runs and helped India post 336-6 on the opening day. Speaking about his 70-run partnership with Jaiswal in the middle, Patidar said that Jaiswal has a special ability in him, and the goal was to take the game as deep as possible.

“We were talking about taking the game as long as possible. My innings, it was good but I have to make it big. Talking about Yashavi, he is a very good player. The way he takes on the bowlers, he has special ability in him,” Patidar said.