Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticized the BCCI selectors for ignoring Sarfaraz Khan for the upcoming Two Tests against West Indies next month.
BCCI Once Again Ignored Sarfaraz Khan
The BCCI selection committee headed by Shiv Sunder Das named the Indian squad for the upcoming Test and ODI series in the Caribbean which saw the veterans Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav being dropped from the squad and Ajinkya Rahane returning as the vice-captain of the side once again.
While a few senior players were dropped from the team, on the other hand, the selection committee picked young and talented Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini are also picked in the Indian squad. However, the national selectors once again ignored the very talented Sarfaraz Khan.
Sarfaraz has played 37 matches in first-class cricket and has scored 3505 runs at an average of 79.65 with 13 centuries and nine half-centuries. His top score of 301 not out came against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2020 match at the Wankhede Stadium.
Apart from performing in the Ranji Trophy, Sarfaraz has also given amazing performances for India A. He recently played for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
But despite his powerful performances, he has been ignored by the selection committee.
Sunil Gavaskar Slammed BCCI Selectors
Meanwhile, Gavaskar slammed the BCCI selectors by saying that the selectors should communicate with Sarfaraz regarding the latter’s future in Test cricket. He said:
“Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons. What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team,”
He added:
“Tell him that his performances are being recognized. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it’s of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red ball game as well,”
India’s Test squad for West Indies tests series:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
