Sunil Gavaskar calls out selectors over Sarfaraz Khan’s snub from India A team

It is been almost a year since Sarfaraz Khan played a Test match for India.

Sarfaraz Khan’s omission from the Rishabh Pant-led India A squad for the upcoming red-ball series against South Africa A took almost everyone by surprise. Once considered a frontrunner for a middle-order slot in the Test team, the Mumbai batter will now feature in the Ranji Trophy instead, nearly a year after his last appearance in Indian colours.

Sarfaraz Khan not part of team anymore

The selectors gave no update on Sarfaraz’s availability or as to why he has constantly been ignored. After he failed to get any gametime at the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), Sarfaraz was overlooked for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and also for the home Tests against the West Indies.

Despite scoring 371 runs in six Tests at an average of 46.37, including a century and three fifties, Sarfaraz has struggled to cement a spot in the national team. His performances in domestic cricket have remained consistent, and he has undertaken a massive fitness transformation, shedding 17 kg during the off-season.

Yet, he has not been included in any India A or senior squads for nearly a year. Following two lean games in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he was left on the sidelines, and his current exclusion from India A now seems to signal an unspoken verdict.

Sunil Gavaskar on Sarfaraz Khan’s snub

India legend Sunil Gavaskar expressed hope that the selectors had communicated clearly with Sarfaraz regarding his absence. Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar said,

“I think it would have been good if the selection committee had told why he was not considered. Hopefully they’ve conveyed it to him. Because only last year, he got 100 against New Zealand on a pitch where not too many others got runs. He got 140 or 150. So, he is capable of batting and scoring runs at the highest level.“

“He hasn’t really got the opportunities. You could say whether it was in Australia or England, he wasn’t even in the squad. Maybe because of injury, but whatever the reason that he has not been picked up, which has not been made public as long as he’s been told why, and therefore he has the opportunity to get better, that would be a good thing to do. About his ability, everybody has seen the runs he has scored, everything, so, hopefully the selection committee has been in touch with him,” said Gavaskar.

A BCCI source later clarified that Sarfaraz’s exclusion was not performance-related. According to NDTV, the Mumbai batter had recently returned from a quadriceps injury and the selectors intend to monitor his form in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season before considering him for India A again.