Sarfaraz Khan’s Ranji Trophy ongoing campaign began on a poor note as the Mumbai batter was dismissed for just one run against Chhattisgarh at the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). The innings, which many expected
to be his reply to the recent India A snub, ended in disappointment.
His omission from the India A squad for the South Africa series grabbed immense eyeballs, with many coming in support of the cricketer. Many believed that the middle-order batter had done enough to earn at least a spot in the India A setup, especially given his strong red-ball numbers for Mumbai.
On a surface that provided movement and bounce for the bowlers, Sarfaraz faced just six balls before falling to left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate. Attempting a lofted shot over the onside, he mistimed it and found Shashank Singh in the deep. The Mumbai batter, who scored 42 and 32 in the previous match against Jammu and Kashmir, was expected to anchor the innings, but perished early.
Shardul Thakur backs Sarfaraz
Meanwhile, ahead of this game, Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur came out in support of Sarfaraz, stating that the batter doesn’t need India A matches to prove his abilities.
"Nowadays, for the India A side, they look at boys, who they want to prepare for international cricket. Sarfaraz doesn't need India A games to play international cricket. If he gets back to scoring again, he can straightaway go and play a Test series too," Shardul had said as quoted by NDTV.
Selectors never take the community or a particular religion into account: MSK Prasad
Furthermore, the Former chairman of the national selection committee, MSK Prasad, suggested that the 27-year-old might need to reconsider his batting position. With the middle-order slots in the Indian team often filled by all-rounders, moving up to No. 3 in Mumbai’s lineup could increase his chances. His omission even saw Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed accuse coach Gautam Gambhir and the selection committee of bias. However, former chief selector MSK Prasad denied such claims, stating that selections are based purely on performance, not background.
“It’ll never happen. When the kid got selected, forget Sarfaraz – generally, when a player is selected, you don’t talk about communities, regionalism, or other stuff. But why do all these things come out only when someone is dropped? We all know that Sarfaraz Khan has done exceptionally well; he has done well in domestic cricket and all. There could be some reason that the selectors would come out and tell. I don’t really foresee Sarfaraz being dropped in an India A game. There must be a solid reason; it may be any reason, but let the selectors come out and say it. But my opinion on regionalism and communalism being the reason behind a player being dropped is absolutely… ah! I don’t think I’ve ever come across such a thing, because we never take the community or a particular religion into account when selecting. The only thing that is considered is a player’s performance. And if someone is thinking along those lines, they are wrong and don’t understand Indian cricket at all," Prasad said.
