Former wicketkeeper-batsman Deep Dasgupta has explained the reason behind Sarfaraz Khan’s late call-up from the selectors for the Test team. The right-handed batsman recently earned his maiden Test call-up for the second Test of the ongoing five-match series between India and England.
Many believe that the Mumbai star should have got the call earlier. Sarfaraz Khan has been one of the most prolific run-scorers in domestic circuit in recent years. Since 2020, he has maintained a stunning average of 84.42 in first-class cricket. No cricketer in the world who has 2000 or more first-class runs since 2020 has a better average than Sarfaraz Khan.
Overall, he has scored 3912 runs in first-class cricket with the help of 14 centuries and 11 half-centuries. He recently impressed against England Lions too, registering scores of 55 and 161 in his last two innings of the unofficial Test series before earning the call-up from the senior team.
Deep Dasgupta on Sarfaraz Khan’s late call-up:
The selectors faced severe criticism from the fans for not selecting Sarfaraz Khan in the Test team even though he scored heavily in red-ball cricket. And Deep Dasgupta believes the reason behind the constant snubs were the batsman’s failure to do well against tougher oppositions.
“Credit to him that he has been in good form for the last two to three years. He scored runs recently against England A as well. He was performing consistently but there were two questions,” Deep Dasgupta said on his YouTube channel.
“The biggest question was in place of whom. We say very easily that this or that player should be there but only 11 can play and the squad can have only 15 or 16. Secondly, there was also this question and I have heard it from a few people that where are the runs in big matches.
“When people talk about first-class cricket, with all due respect, you have 37 teams. You are also playing against some very average teams. I shouldn’t be saying this, it will be disrespectful to some of the teams, but quality of runs is also important. I am not saying this against Sarfaraz,” he added.
Sarfaraz Khan will be hoping that he gets the chance to play the second Test and make his mark in international cricket. With KL Rahul sidelined due to an injury, Sarfaraz and Rajat Patidar are in contention to replace the star batsman. Meanwhile, India will be desperate to bounce back and draw level in the series after losing the first Test by 28 runs.
