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Sarfaraz Khan‘s non-inclusion in the Indian squad for the upcoming West Indies tour became one of the most talked about topics in the Indian cricketing fraternity. Several experts and former cricketers questioned the BCCI selectors for ignoring Sarfaraz Khan yet again.
Sarfaraz Khan has played 37 matches in first-class cricket and has scored 3505 runs at an average of 79.65 with 13 centuries and nine half-centuries. His top score of 301 not out came against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2020 match at the Wankhede Stadium.
BCCI Official Revealed The Real Reason Why Sarfaraz Khan Wasn’t Selected
Despite his consistent performances in the domestic circuit, Sarfaraz Khan has time and again been ignored by the BCCI. He has a very impressive career average of 79.65 after 37 red ball games. So it came out as a big surprise that Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has a career average of 42-plus, was preferred over him.
Meanwhile, after receiving backlash from the fans, a BCCI official privy to selection developments told PTI the real reason behind Sarfaraz’s non-inclusion on conditions of anonymity. He revealed:
“The angry reactions are understandable, but I can tell you with some degree of certainty that the reason behind Sarfaraz getting ignored time and again is not just cricketing one. There are multiple reasons for which he hasn’t been considered,”
He added:
“Are the selectors fools to not consider a player who has scored 900 plus runs in successive seasons? One of the reason is his fitness which isn’t exactly of international standard.
“He has to work hard, maybe shed weight and come back leaner and fitter as it’s not just batting fitness that is sole criteria for selection,”
As per the BCCI official, fitness is not the only reason for his non-selection in the team. The BCCI official revealed:
“His conduct on and off the field hasn’t exactly been top notch. Certain things said, certain gestures made and some incidents have been taken note of. A bit more disciplined approach would only do him a world of good. Hopefully, Sarfaraz along with his father and coach Naushad Khan will work on those aspects,”
Reportedly, Sarfaraz’s celebrations after his century against Delhi earlier this year during a Ranji game didn’t go down well as the then-selection committee chairman Chetan Sharma was watching that game from the stands. Prior to that, during the 2022 Ranji Trophy final, his conduct during a break had irked MP coach and Mumbai stalwart Chandrakant Pandit.
The BCCI official was also asked if IPL’s performance and his weakness against short ball has also contributed to his non-selection. Responding to this, the Source said: “That’s a perception built by media. Do you think there could be any cricketing reason?
“When Mayank Agarwal broke into Indian Test team, he scored 1000 first class runs in one month. Did MSK Prasad’s committee check his IPL credentials? Ditto for Hanuma Vihari, who came through domestic and A team ranks. If their IPL and white ball record wasn’t checked, then why would SS Das’s committee reinvent the wheel now? Simple. The reason is not a cricketing one,”
He added: “Just think about it. Why was Sarfaraz not even among the reserves for the World Test Championship? Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jasiwal were the two reserves after Ruturaj pulled out due to his marriage.”
Sarfaraz Shared A Cryptic Post
Earlier in the day, disappointed with his non-selection, Sarfaraz Khan took to his social media and shared a cryptic post. He shared highlights of some of his best performances. Check out his story:
TEST Squad for IND vs WI:
Rohit Sharma (Capt), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
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