India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said on Tuesday that while KL Rahul and Sarfaraz Khan are locked in a selection battle for the second Test v NZ here, head coach Gautam Gambhir is keen to give the former, a long rope.

“Yeah, there’s no point in sugarcoating it, there’s a fight for a spot,” ten Doeschate told the media when asked if Rahul and Sarfaraz were battling for a place in the team.