After being dropped from the India Test side for the five-match England tour, Sarfaraz Khan made a statement to the national team management as he blasted a 76-ball century in the two-day warm-up game between the Test squad and the India A side in Beckenham ahead of Friday’s first match against England at Headingley.
Studded with 15 fours and two maximums, Sarfaraz was retired out to accommodate other batters, a knock that followed his stroke-filled 92 against the England Lions in Canterbury earlier this month. The 27-year-old was overlooked for the Test squad announced last month, as he was during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia last year, benched throughout the five-match series.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra said he felt the Mumbaikar has done no wrong to be snubbed from the Test side.
“Sarfaraz Khan hasn’t done anything wrong thus far. In fact, he hasn’t done anything wrong till now. The one match he played, he scored 90-plus runs. 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.
“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 you have to take a call. Then don’t send him with India A also, because you have a pre-conceived notion.
After a second-innings 150 against New Zealand in Bengaluru in October 2024, Sarfaraz played only three more red-ball games before his near-six-month layoff.
“If you think he can make runs, and that’s why he has been picked for the India A squad, then play him in the India Test team too. What wrong has he done? He made a ton in Bengaluru. Then he failed in two matches, but no one else scored in those matches. He did not even play a single match in Australia, in fact, he was not even part of the conversation. So, in such a scenario, one might think that something wrong is happening with him. What has he done wrong? Maybe, absolutely nothing. But he is not getting a place in the XI. in fact, he is not in the scheme of things, which is a little sad, if your name is Sarfaraz Khan,” he said.
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Sarfaraz’s exclusion paved way for the return of veteran Karun Nair on the back of a strong domestic season, receiving the backing from chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar.
“Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know he got a 100 in the first Test (vs New Zealand) and then didn’t get runs. Sometimes it’s decisions the team management takes. Whether it’s fair on somebody or unfair on someone, those are the choices that you make in the best interest of the team,” Agarkar said last month.
