India vs England 2024

Who is Saurabh Kumar? India’s latest Test call-up for second Test vs England

30-year-old Saurabh Kumar has been handed an India call-up for the second Test in Visakhapatnam. The all-rounder is a domestic cricket stalwart who has been knocking on the doors of selection.

Ravindra Jadeja got injured during the first Test match in Hyderabad as revealed by India’s cricket board. As per the reports doing the rounds, Jadeja has suffered an injury to his hamstring.

KL Rahul is another player who will not play the second Test vs England. The 31-year-old batted well at the number four spot after replacing Virat Kohli. It is believed that KL Rahul has suffered some sort of injury to his quadriceps muscles.

Saurabh Kumar: One step away from his dream

Indian domestic cricket has produced many amazing talents over the years. Saurabh Kumar is the latest to the list and the 30-year-old has taken the local circuits by storm. With Ravindra Jadeja likely facing a possible injury lay-off this is a godsend chance for Saurabh Kumar.

The story of Saurabh Kumar’s entry into domestic cricket begins in 2014. Then aged 21, Saurabh Kumar was playing for services when he played against Himachal Pradesh. With the ball, the young left-arm spinner was carted for 129 runs from 31 overs. His only wicket was that of opener Raghav Dhawan for 38.

In a few years, Saurabh decided to shift bases to Uttar Pradesh, and that paid rich dividends. In his 9^th year of domestic cricket, Saurabh Kumar has already picked 290 wickets from 68 games.

The man from Uttar Pradesh is more than handy with the bat and has batted as high as number six. The 30-year-old has scored 2061 runs with the help of two centuries and a dozen half-centuries. His average of 27 denotes his ability to hang in there and score runs when his team needs it the most. Kumar is known to be an attacking batter as seen with his strike rate of 73 in the first-class format.

In the India A vs England Lions game, Saurabh Kumar picked 5/104 from his 29 overs. His wickets included England players like Keaton Jennings, Brydon Carse, and Matthew Potts. Team England will worry about his latest entrant not just with the ball but also his batting feats.

With a score of 77 runs off 92 balls with 16 fours, Saurabh Kumar helped India A gain a massive lead. That all-round performance helped India A win the game by an innings and 16 runs.