Vijay Lokapally Named Rishabh Pant’s Replacement For Australia Series

Receiving a national call to represent the country at the international level is a dream come true for any up-and-coming cricketer and hone has to perform consistently in domestic cricket to be eligible for the national selection. And if the selection criteria is to be understood, Sarfaraz Khan, the 25-year-old Mumbai batter has been making all the right noises with the bat in the domestic circuit, especially in the ongoing tournament Ranji Trophy.

Sarfaraz Khan continued with his brilliance in the Ranji Trophy. He was the highest run-getter in the previous season of the Ranji Trophy (2021-2022), scoring 982 runs at an average of 122.75 in nine innings. He began the ongoing season with a century against Hyderabad in the 2nd game of the season and now has smashed another century in a game against Tamil Nadu. He is currently unbeaten on the same score of 126 against Tamil Nadu.

Sarfaraz now has 12 first-class centuries in 50 innings and according to many former cricketers and experts, the young Mumbai batter has been banging the door down of national selection.

Sarfaraz Khan, Umran Malik named in India A squad to face New Zealand A in  September | Sports News,The Indian Express

Despite giving back-to-back amazing performances in the domestic circuit, Sarfaraz wasn’t included in India’s squad for Bangladesh Tests. However, the cricketer keeps pushing his case for a Test call-up by giving a consistent performance in every inning or two. 

Meanwhile, as soon as Sarfaraz Khan reached his  12th FC ton and 9th for Mumbai, social media was flooded with amazing reactions from the fans. While many believe that the Mumbai star is not far from selection, on the other hand, there are many who feel that he could be an ideal replacement for Rishabh Pant for the upcoming Australia Test series.

Among many, veteran sports journalist Vijay Lokapally also took to his social media and expressed his thoughts on Sarfaraz Khan not receiving a national call despite giving consistent performances. In his Tweet, Vijay Lokapally hailed Sarfaraz for his achievements and stated that he should play in the Test series against Australia this year. He wrote:

Two centuries in 3 matches this Ranji season (including 162 against TN today
Four in 2022
Three (a double and triple) in 2020
When will they pick Sarfaraz Khan (seen here with abbu Naushad)
He must play in the Test series against Australia this year. He can pass the yo-yo test..”

Check out the Tweet:

 

 

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