The continued exclusion of Sarfaraz has raised questions among former cricketers about the relevance of first-class cricket and why the IPL has become such a crucial factor in selection.
The announcement of the Indian team's latest squad has sparked yet another round of debates, igniting the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The BCCI has made a couple of surprising decisions, particularly in regards to the Test team for the upcoming two-match series against the West Indies. It was anticipated that the repercussions of the World Test Championship (WTC) final loss would be evident in the squad, and unfortunately, veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara was the first to be affected.
Despite his outstanding performance in the County Championship for two consecutive seasons, Pujara's low returns in Test cricket have resulted in him facing the axe. Meanwhile, Sarfaraz Khan, the leading run-getter of the Ranji Trophy in the last two seasons, has been left on the sidelines despite doing everything to earn a spot on the Test team.
The continued exclusion of Sarfaraz has raised questions among former cricketers about the relevance of first-class cricket and why the IPL has become such a crucial factor in selection, even in red-ball cricket.
Sarfaraz boasts an impressive average of 79.65 in first-class cricket and has scored 92.8 since 2021. He has scored more runs than anyone in the last two Ranji Trophy seasons, where he was consistently slamming centuries. However, his low returns in the IPL while playing for the Delhi Capitals have resulted in him having to continue performing in red-ball matches in domestic cricket and keep knocking on the door of selection.
Sarfaraz, a member of the West Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy, has been diligently preparing for the tournament. Following the announcement of the squad, he shared a cryptic post on his Instagram story.
"One love," Sarfaraz captioned the post of the pitch where he was seemingly practicing with the title track of the Bollywood film 'Lakshya' in the backdrop whose lyrics went like 'roke tujhko andhiyaan, kya zameen or aasmaan, payega jo lakshya hai tera. Lakshya toh har haal mein paana hai.
After the announcement of the Test squad, the esteemed Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar expressed his disappointment. He stated that such decisions could potentially demoralize young cricketers, leading them to view franchise-based leagues as the sole means of securing a spot on the national team.
"Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons. What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team."
"Tell him that his performances are being recognized. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it's of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red ball game as well," he added.
India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini
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 "Sarfaraz Khan (File Photo)")
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