It’s been nearly a year since Sarfaraz Khan last donned India colours, and his absence from the freshly announced India A squad for the upcoming red-ball series against South Africa A has raised more questions than answers. Once seen as the next in line for a middle-order slot in India’s Test team, the Mumbai batter now finds himself out of both the senior and the A setup. It is a jarring fall from grace for someone who, not too long ago, was the poster boy of domestic consistency.
Lack of communication or lack of faith in Sarfaraz?
Sarfaraz’s exclusion is all the more perplexing considering his recent numbers and visible commitment to improving fitness. Across six Tests, he has scored 371 runs at an average of 46.37, including a century and three fifties. These are not bad for a player still trying to cement his spot. In domestic cricket, his appetite for runs has been relentless. And yet, despite ticking the boxes and shedding 17 kg of weight during the off-season too, he remains without any clarity.
Since making his Test debut against England in early 2024, Sarfaraz has done little wrong. He scored twin fifties in his first match and followed up with a century against New Zealand later that year. The century came when India were in massive trouble too.
But after two lean games, he found himself warming the bench throughout the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Australia. That was nearly a year ago and he hasn’t played a single international match since. Let alone play, he hasn’t been selected in the squad ever since. Now, with Rishabh Pant leading the India A side against South Africa A, Sarfaraz’s absence feels like an unspoken verdict. As per reports, he has been advised to play at number three for his state side in order to make a case for his Test selection as only that spot is not stamped in the current Indian team. Sai Sudharsan is still finding his groove at one down.
Ashwin’s take on “Confusing” selection policy
Former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t hold back while analysing the decision. Speaking on his YouTube channel, he called out the selection committee for what he described as a lack of clarity and communication. He said the treatment meted out to Sarfaraz echoed the experiences of players like Subramaniam Badrinath and Manoj Tiwary, who were once told that they were being dropped from India A to make room for new faces but kept in the loop with honesty.
“The problem is that your communication and selection should match. I remember Subramaniam Badrinath used to play for the India A team and was the captain as well for a long time, but did not get selected. The same happened to Manoj Tiwary. The communication that went through was that ‘we have seen enough of you, and now we want to take a look at fresh faces. So you won’t be playing for the India A team anymore, but if we need you in the Indian team, we will pick you,’” Ashwin said.
‘Seen enough for Sarfaraz’
But in Sarfaraz’s case, Ashwin pointed out, there’s no such clarity.
“If you say we have seen enough of Sarfaraz in India A, and only if we need him will we pick him in the Indian side, then that will be wrong. Because you picked Abhimanyu Easwaran, and he has played enough for India A. However, barring these cases, the rest are all futuristic — Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar,” he noted.
The veteran spinner also empathised with the Mumbai batter’s predicament, highlighting how his weight loss and improved fitness haven’t translated into renewed faith from selectors.
“I am very sad and feel sorry for him. Had I been the selector, what would I have called him up and said? He has reduced his weight, and he has been scoring runs; he also scored a century in his last Test series. And this sort of non-selection leads me to think that someone must have been thinking that we have seen enough of him, and we no longer want him,” Ashwin said.
“Now, if he performs well in first-class cricket, they will say he is very good only for first-class cricket. So he won’t get picked for India A now. Where will he go and prove his credentials? Where will he show that he has improved? Such non-selection feels like someone’s decision that we are no longer looking at him,” he concluded.
The post ‘Door seems shut’: Ashwin opens up on Sarfaraz Khan’s snub from India A; questions selectors appeared first on Inside Sport India.