Despite tons of runs under his belt in domestic cricket, and a recent fitness transformation, during which he lost 17 kilograms, Sarfaraz Khan has been denied a place in even the India A team, let alone the senior national squad. On Tuesday, as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the squad for the upcoming India A home series against South Africa A, the Mumbai batter failed to make the cut. And the BCCI has yet to reveal the reason.
Sarfaraz has ticked every box to ensure he remains the scheme of things for a spot in the Indian Test squad. Over the last five years, he has scored 2467 runs at an average of 117.47, with ten centuries in first-class cricket. Despite cracking into the Indian side last year, where he smashed fifties in both innings on debut, Sarfaraz remained a regular in domestic cricket. And when criticised about his fitness, he underwent a transformation over the last summer before scoring 138 and 109 in the pre-season Buchi Babu tournament. Despite all, Sarfaraz was denied a place in the India A team on Tuesday.
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The right-hander batter was, however, part of the last India A squad, which had toured England, and he had scored 92 runs in one of the innings. According to a report in The Indian Express, Sarfaraz was only included in that squad as "it was felt that his absence might raise uncomfortable questions as he was a contracted player." Well, BCCI's fear did come alive this time as social media has shown no mercy to the selectors for excluding Sarfaraz from the India A squad.
{{/usCountry}}The right-hander batter was, however, part of the last India A squad, which had toured England, and he had scored 92 runs in one of the innings. According to a report in The Indian Express, Sarfaraz was only included in that squad as "it was felt that his absence might raise uncomfortable questions as he was a contracted player." Well, BCCI's fear did come alive this time as social media has shown no mercy to the selectors for excluding Sarfaraz from the India A squad.
{{/usCountry}}The report also added that Sarfaraz was assured that "he will be considered for home Test series." However, he was not selected for the contest against the West Indies, which took place earlier this month, as he was still recovering from an injury he had sustained during the Buchi Babu tournament and the Centre of Excellence (COE) had not cleared his fitness. Incidentally, the squad was announced on September 25, while Sarfaraz cleared his fitness test two days later. The report highlighted that, unlike most other players, there was no mention of Sarfaraz in the squad list as well, with the asterisk symbol saying ‘subject to fitness’.
The entire episode has clearly highlighted a lack of clarity regarding Sarfaraz and his place in the Indian Test cricket landscape. The report added that there are speculations that if he can play higher up the order, likely at No. 4 in the Mumbai lineup, he could break into the Indian team.