Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is an avid cricket fan, often posting his opinion on topics related to the sport on his 'X' (formerly Twitter) handle. One of the growing debates in Indian cricket is whether the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors have been reluctant to pick some of the best performers in domestic red-ball competitions for the Test team.
The likes of Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran have performed consistently in domestic cricket but have not had the opportunities
that they would have expected. Sarfaraz played six Tests in 2024 before going out of favour. On the other hand, Easwaran was dropped from the squad for the recent Tests against the West Indies after being a part of the Indian side in the Border-Gavaskar series and Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
Sarfaraz, who scored 74 runs across two innings in Mumbai's thrilling outright win against Jammu and Kashmir in their Ranji Trophy 2025-26 opener, got support from Tharoor, who lambasted the selectors for not giving chances to proven players and taking a punt on players who they believe have potential.
This is frankly an outrage. @SarfarazA_54 averages 65-plus in first class cricket, scored a 50 on Test debut and a 150 in a Test we lost, made 92 in his only tour match in England (and a century in the practice match against the full Indian Test team) -- and still finds himself excluded from the selectors' frame of reference," Tharoor wrote on X.
He also expressed his joy after the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Prithvi Shaw, and Karun Nair registered big scores in the second-round matches of the Ranji Trophy. Tharoor urged the selectors to value domestic performances instead of just rewarding IPL exploits.
"I am also very glad to see @ajinkyarahane88, @PrithviShaw and @karun126 making runs in the #RanjiTrophy. Our selectors are too quick to discard proven talent in order to take a punt on "potential". These are players who have proven themselves over and over again. Runs in domestic cricket must be valued by the selectors, not just the #IPL; otherwise why should anyone bother to play the Ranji?" Tharoor added.
Sarfaraz scored 92 against England Lions ahead of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. However, his campaign in the United Kingdom ended prematurely due to an injury.
Since then, he has worked hard on his fitness and seems to be in the best shape of his career. However, he suffered a massive setback when he wasn't named in India A's squad to face South Africa A in two unofficial Tests, starting on Thursday, October 30.
