Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring runs for his state team, Mumbai, in Ranji Trophy matches day in and day out for the last couple of seasons, but he has yet to make the Indian Test squad. The 25-year-old finished as the leading run scorer in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 season, when in six matches he amassed a total of 982 runs. He was expected to play in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh last month but was not selected, and he was also left out of the 17-man squad announced for the first two Tests against Australia. Sarfaraz’s snub from the Test team against Australia raised many eyebrows, and many former greats and fans slammed the BCCI’s selection committee for ignoring the batter.
And now, for the first time, a member of the five-member selection committee headed by former pacer Chetan Sharma has spoken about Sarfaraz’s snub. Sridharan Sharath, who joined the selection committee earlier this month, broke his silence on the Sarfaraz matter and said that while the Mumbai batter remains on the radar for selection, ‘team composition’ is a priority for the selectors.
“He is certainly on our radar. In due course, he will get his due. While picking the team, we have to consider things like composition and balance,” Sharath told Sportstar.
Sarfaraz is a middle-order batter, and at present, the Indian team’s middle order is heavily stacked. Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, and Shreyas Iyer bat at Nos. 3, 4, and 5, respectively, with a wicketkeeper-batsman at No. 6.
There are question marks over Iyer’s availability for the upcoming Test series against Australia, as the batter is currently out injured. If he fails to get fit on time, then in his place, Suryakumar Yadav, who earned his maiden India Test call-up for the Australia Test series, could get a game.
Speaking about Surya’s inclusion in the Test team, Sharath said, “Suryakumar Yadav too can take the game quickly away from the opposition. He has different shots to unsettle an attack. Don’t forget he has over 5,000 first-class runs.”
