Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali wants Team India to drop star batter KL Rahul from the Test side once Shubman Gill is fit enough to play again. Gill missed the first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, which India lost by 8 wickets on Sunday, due to a stiff neck. India roped Sarfaraz Khan to replace Gill in the XI, and the Mumbai batter hit his maiden Test century, slamming 150 in the second innings to make the most of the opportunity.

However, Gill is likely to return to the XI for the all-important second Test in Pune. He was seen taking throwdowns after the 1st Test. In that case, India might be forced to drop Sarfaraz, who has scored three half-centuries and a ton in his first four Tests for the team.

Meanwhile, Basit had urged the Indian team not to sacrifice Sarfaraz, saying that the Rohit Sharma-led side should instead drop out-of-form Rahul, who failed in both innings of the 1st Test and also had a below-par outing during the recently-concluded series against Bangladesh.

Basit feels it would be an injustice if India drop Sarfaraz, who hasn’t done much wrong in his short Test career so far.

“Once Shubman Gill is fit, there should not be an injustice to Sarfaraz Khan. KL Rahul should be rested now. People rate him very highly, but his performances haven’t been like that. He did very well in South Africa but hasn’t done the same in home matches,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

Basit also labelled Rahul’s performance against New Zealand as ‘disappointing’.

“A lot depended on KL Rahul after Sarfaraz Khan and Rishabh Pant got out. He has played a lot of Test matches and is everyone’s favorite. However, he disappointed me today,” he added.

Meanwhile, Will Young and Rachin Ravindra put on an unbroken 75 to guide New Zealand to a first Test win in India for 36 years.

Chasing a tricky 107 on a rain-delayed day, New Zealand lost captain Tom Latham without scoring and Devon Conway for 17. 

But Young and Ravindra guided the visitors to 110-2 in the first session and a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

(With AFP Inputs)