Follow UsThe Indian selectors reportedly want Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan to move up the order if he hopes to make a comeback into the Test team, according to reports from PTI and The Indian Express.
The 28-year-old has played six Tests so far, scoring 371 runs at an average of 37.10, including a brilliant 150 against New Zealand in a home series where most of India’s batters struggled.
Yet, despite consistent performances in domestic cricket and glimpses of quality at the international level, Sarfaraz didn't get a chance to play in Australia and England. The team management and selectors reportedly believe his technique may not hold up in conditions outside Asia.
However, Sarfaraz has shown otherwise. In a first-class game against the England Lions in Canterbury, he scored 92 in his only innings. He has also undergone a physical transformation, shedding close to 17 kilos and looking fitter than ever.
Still, his absence from recent squads continues to puzzle many. For someone averaging an astonishing 110.47 over the last five years in first-class cricket, with 10 hundreds and 5 fifties, Sarfaraz’s exclusion from India’s Test setup remains baffling. India’s squad for the home series against West Indies was picked on September 25, with whispers that Sarfaraz had failed his fitness test. Yet, he cleared it just two days later, on September 27.
The confusion deepened when his name was missing from the squad for the two upcoming first-class games against South Africa A, starting October 30 (Thursday). No explanation has been offered, even though Sarfaraz featured in a Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir last week.
According to PTI, the selectors and management believe India’s middle-order is already stacked with the likes of Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, and Nitish Kumar Reddy - leaving only the No.3 position unsettled. Sai Sudharsan currently occupies that role but hasn’t fully secured it.
“Sarfaraz should have a chat with the Mumbai team management and also with their senior-most player, Ajinkya Rahane, and, maybe, try out batting at No. 3 where he might have to play the new ball. If he keeps batting at No. 5 or 6, it won't help. India have more all-round options for those slots,” a former national selector privy to the developments told PTI.
“Pant, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Reddy... if all are fit and available, they will occupy the middle-order, being multi-skilled players. When Pant is injured, it will be Dhruv Jurel batting at No. 5 or 6.”
In The Indian Express, senior journalist Devendra Pandey echoed the same uncertainty: “The main issue here is the lack of clarity. Has he not been selected for India A’s games against South Africa because it was deemed it would be better for him to play Ranji Trophy? There are even whispers that he should be playing higher up the order, say in the top 4, for Mumbai for him to be considered for India selection.”
India are set to host South Africa for two home Tests next month, but Sarfaraz’s chances of being included appear slim unless he produces something extraordinary in the Ranji Trophy - and even then, his path back looks far from straightforward.