Gambhir, Agarkar face scrutiny for Sarfaraz Khan's unfair treatment after ENG snub: 'He hasn't done anything wrong'
Despite having an impeccable domestic record and a decent start to his international career, Sarfaraz Khan was snubbed for the England tour.
Former cricketer Aakash Chopra criticised the Indian team management for treating Sarfaraz Khan unfairly after he was left out of India's Test team for the England tour. The Mumbai batter made his India debut last year in the home series against England, where he made an impact straightaway with half-centuries in both innings of the first Test. He also scored a marvellous 150 against New Zealand at home, where other Indian batters failed to get going, and India suffered an embarrassing 0-3 whitewash at home.
Sarfaraz also travelled with the Indian team to Australia, as part of the main squad, but he didn't get any chance to play as coach Gautam Gambhir preferred Washington Sundar over him on a couple of occasions on pace-friendly tracks. Despite having an impeccable domestic record and a decent start to his international career, he was snubbed for the England tour as selectors preferred Sai Sudharsan and Karun Nair over him.
Chopra raised concerns over Sarfaraz’s treatment, noting that he was dropped from India A’s playing XI in the second unofficial Test against the England Lions, despite scoring 92 in the first match. Sarfaraz (92 off 119 balls) blended a bit of muscle and a lot of cheekiness but missed out on a three-figure mark after doing all the hard work, while he was left out of the team for the second match when senior batter KL Rahul joined the side.
"Sarfaraz Khan hasn't done anything wrong thus far. In fact, he scored 90-plus in the one match he played. He couldn't score a hundred, but he scored runs. After that, you didn't play him in the next match, and he is not part of the Test team," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
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'Don't send him with India A also'
The former cricketer-turned-commentator added that if the management lacks confidence in his technique, they shouldn’t select him for India A either.
"He hasn't failed in England, Australia and South Africa thus far, but you haven't given him a chance. It is not a good story. I can understand if you don't have confidence in his technique or playing style, that he might not be able to score runs there, then just take a call. Then don't send him with India A also," he added.
