There was a huge furore among the fans and experts on social media when Sarfaraz Khan was omitted from India’s Test squad for the ongoing Test series in West Indies. These section of fans and former cricketers had opined that Sarfaraz Khan was unfairly treated by the selectors, and they pointed out his brilliant numbers in first-class cricket.
However, now, Sarfaraz Khan’s poor form in Duleep Trophy, where he’s registered three consecutive single-digit scores, seems to have vindicated the decision by the selectors to not include him in the Test team yet.
Before the start of the Duleep Trophy knockouts, when the India squad for the West Indies tour was announced, Sarfaraz Khan had been averaging close to 80, the highest first-class average for batters with minimum 3000 runs since Don Bradman.
One of the reasons reported for Sarfaraz Khan’s exclusion from the Indian team was that the selectors felt he wasn’t yet ready for international cricket and still had a few chinks in his armor; another reason was that while Sarfaraz had scored big runs some weaker opposition and low-quality Indian domestic bowlers, he had faltered against high-quality bowlers and on India A matches against other nations’ A teams.
Sarfaraz Khan manages three single-digit scores in Duleep Trophy
Sarfaraz has suffered a bit of a setback in the ongoing Duleep Trophy. Batting for West Zone, he’s managed three straight single-digit scores. In the semi-final against Central Zone, he was dismissed for 0 and 6, dismissed by fast bowler Shivam Mavi and left-arn finger spinner Saurabh Kumar, both of whom are rated highly and have been in India contention in the past.
In the final, then, in West Zone’s first innings, he was dismissed for another duck by Vidhwath Kaverappa, another well-known, high-quality bowler in the domestic circuit.
His form justifying Selector's statement.
— Shubman Gang (@ShubmanGang) July 13, 2023
