Sarfaraz Khan’s omission from India’s Test squad for the West Indies tour has led to an outburst of Indian experts and fans, as they demand an explanation for his non-selection in the Indian team despite scoring a truckload of runs in domestic cricket over the last three years in Ranji Trophy.
Young Indian players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad got their call for the India test squad on the back of their performances in the IPL, but Sarfaraz’s consistent performance in the domestic cricket was ignored by the selectors, which led to a wide range of speculation in the Media Outlets and Social Media.
A report suggests that performance was not the reason Sarfaraz did not get the nod for the West Indies tour. It was reported that Sarfaraz Khan’s snub from the Indian team has been linked to fitness and disciplinary issues of the youngster, which was not received well by the Indian selectors, as it could have been the reason for his non-selection in the team.
Denying the reports, A source close to Mumbai Cricket revealed that Sarfaraz Khan’s aggressive celebration after the century against Delhi was towards his teammates in the dressing room, not towards the selector Salil Ankola and questioned that even a celebration can be a factor for his omission in the squad.
”Sarfaraz’s celebration during a Ranji match in Delhi was meant for his teammates and coach Amol Mujumdar, who had doffed his hat. The selector present was Salil Ankola and not Chetan Sharma. Sarfaraz took the team out of a pressure situation and the celebration was one of relief.”
”Is it even wrong to be exalted in your celebration and that too when you are pointing towards your own dressing room,” A source close to PTI said
Sarfaraz Khan has been one of the consistent performers for Mumbai, as he amassed 3505 runs from 37 matches (13 centuries, nine half-centuries) at an average of 79.65. The prolific run-scorer scored 556 runs in 6 games in the 2022 season with the help of three centuries and an average of more than 90.
The Source revealed that prolific Indian coach Chandrakant Pandit treats him like his son, as he always says good things about the Indian Youngster.
”Chandu sir treats him like a son. He has always had good things to say about him and knows him since he was 14 years old. He would never be angry on Sarfaraz,” the source said.
Many former Cricketers including Sunil Gavaskar, Wasim Jaffer, and Aakash Chopra questioned the selectors over the non-selection of Sarfaraz Khan in the team. The team selection for the West Indies tour raised many eyebrows as many top performers were ignored in the team.