Sarfaraz Khan is back in the Indian Test team after a long time. The last time he was part of the squad was during the 2024-25 tour of Australia, when India lost the series 3-1. Since then, he was on the sidelines despite scoring heaps and heaps of runs in domestic cricket. However, an injury to Sai Sudharsan opened a spot in the 15-member squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, and the Ajit Agarkar-led committee finally recalled Sarfaraz to the team.
With Sarfaraz back in the mix, questions are being raised regarding whether the Mumbai batter would back into the playing XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. The speculation has gained further steam owing to Dhruv Jurel's recent poor performance in the warm-up match against SLC XI, in which he returned scores of 1 and 17.
Deep Dive
Why was Sarfaraz Khan included in the Indian Test squad against Sri Lanka?
What did Murali Kartik suggest regarding Dhruv Jurel's position in the playing XI?
How does Sarfaraz Khan's playing style suit the pitch conditions in Sri Lanka?
However, former India spinner Murali Kartik believes that Sarfaraz needs to wait for his chance and that the team management should stick with Jurel for now, as he has been part of the setup longer than the Mumbai batter.
“Look, he has made his way into the side in place of Sai Sudarshan. The reason why I am saying that Dhruv Jurel has been part of the side. Dhruv Jurel is a very handy test batter. He has done exactly what the team has asked him to do. So, I would want him to start in the playing XI. Sarfaraz has done nothing wrong. But he is coming in as a replacement,” said Kartik while replying to a Hindustan Times Digital query during a media interaction on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}“Look, he has made his way into the side in place of Sai Sudarshan. The reason why I am saying that Dhruv Jurel has been part of the side. Dhruv Jurel is a very handy test batter. He has done exactly what the team has asked him to do. So, I would want him to start in the playing XI. Sarfaraz has done nothing wrong. But he is coming in as a replacement,” said Kartik while replying to a Hindustan Times Digital query during a media interaction on Wednesday.
{{/usCountry}}“And for me, I think going forward, the key for the Indian team going forward in this test cycle is the kind of consistency we show in the way we play, in the way we pick sides, and also the messaging. So, it's very important that the players feel very secure about their places in this playing XI. And from that point of view, and from just the point of view that Dhruv Jurel is also a wonderful wicket-keeper if needed. So, I would want Dhruv Jurel to start,” he added.
It is worth mentioning that Sarfaraz had played a 150-run knock against New Zealand in 2024, but two poor games led to the right-hander warming the bench for the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and subsequently, he was shown the door from the squad. A lot has been made about what led to Sarfaraz's exclusion, but no one said it aloud in the media.
‘Trust your batters’
Under head coach Gautam Gambhir, one has seen the team management opting for players who can offer something with both bat and ball. This approach might have yielded results in T20S, but in Test cricket, the bowling department has been compromised, especially after the retirement of Ravichandran Ashwin. Jasprit Bumrah has also been unavailable on some occasions, leaving the bowling department undercooked.
Kartik too feels that the batters need to be trusted by the management, and the need of the hour is to have more specialist bowlers in the playing XI.
“I do feel so. I always feel that you need to trust your batters. If you pick 6 or 7, we have the luxury of two wonderful guys in, what should I say, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin. In fact, when Axar Patel came, he could bat a bit as well. He is not in the playing 11. But more importantly, like you pick 4 or 5 bowlers and expect them to pick 20 wickets, people might say that it's a bit old-school,” said Kartik.
“But that's the way it is. You want to make sure that you are not compromising on either at the cost of the other. So, you don't want to load your batting just to protect your batting and in the process weaken the bowling. And the other way around: in trying to strengthen or bolster the bowling, you do something else, which actually doesn't happen. It's the other way around. It's always the batting which wants to get bolstered. Guys like Manav Suthar and Kuldeep Yadav can bat if they do find a place in the 11. More importantly, you want to make sure that you've got enough arsenal to bowl the opposition out twice,” he added.
Watch Sri Lanka vs. India 1st Test Day 1 on August 15, 2026, from 10 AM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 1 SD & HD & Sony LIV.