Sarfaraz Khan sent yet another reminder of his skills to the national selectors with a stellar double-century for Mumbai against Hyderabad on Friday (January 23). Batting at number five, the right-hander
hit 19 boundaries and nine sixes, including 45 runs off 39 balls against India international Mohammed Siraj.
This was Sarfaraz’s 17th First-Class 100-plus score, the third most since the 2019 season. He has been in stunning form across formats — he was the highest run-scorer for Mumbai in the Vijay Hazare Trophy — despite dealing with regular bouts of injury.
Sarfaraz last played a Test for India against New Zealand in the infamous home whitewash in 2024. He had the highest score to his name in that series, a 150, though it came in a losing cause.
However, he was dropped for the ensuing tour of Australia and has since missed the tour of England (despite performing superbly in the pre-series warmups), and home rubbers against West Indies and South Africa. A combination of the management’s all-rounders-favoring philosophy and some off-field issues seem to have hurt Sarfaraz’s comeback chances, which has led to criticism.
“You know, the thing is, it’s really baffling for me that he’s not picked in any format for India, when he has done well so consistently, even for India also when he got an opportunity,” former India selector Dilip Vengsarkar said of Sarafaraz to TOI.
“I watched him and (Devdutt) Padikkal batting together against England in Dharamshala (March 2024). It was a crucial session. They batted beautifully and forged together an important partnership, which ultimately helped India win the Test match,” Vengsarkar added.
“And after that (home series against England), he didn’t get an opportunity (to play another Test). Of course, he was on the tour of Australia (the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy), but he wasn’t given a chance at all, and that really baffles me, because he’s a good enough player to play in all formats of the game. Such a talent has been ignored and neglected. It’s a real shame!” he said.
