File photo of Sarfaraz Khan
The manner of selection of players in the Indian team remains a mystery for many. After the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Test and ODI squads for the tour of West Indies, reactions galore over the repeated snub of domestic superstar Sarfaraz Khan. Even former India opener Aakash Chopra was left baffled seeing Sarfaraz remain on the sidelines despite the mountains of runs he has scored over the last two campaigns of the Ranji Trophy.
Sarfaraz, who has been the most prolific run-scorer in First Class cricket in India, couldn’t even break into the Indian Test squad, with the Yashasvi Jaiswal getting the nod after Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped.
Aakash Chopra, in a video on his YouTube channel, blasted the selectors saying they should reveal the ‘reason’ behind Sarfaraz’s absence from the Test team as the batter has been doing everything right in First Class cricket.
“What should Sarfaraz do? If you look at his numbers in the past 3 years, he’s head and shoulders above the rest. He’s scored everywhere. Even then, if he’s not selected… what message does it send?” Chopra said, asking the selectors an important question.
“This is a question worth asking. If there’s some other reason, something which you and I don’t know, make it public. Just say it that you didn’t like that particular thing about Sarfaraz, and that’s why you’re not considering him. But we don’t know if there’s something like that. I don’t know if someone told Sarfaraz about that.
First Class cricket is what has been considered the most important platform for Test consideration. But, that hasn’t been the case for Sarfaraz, and Chopra, like many others, isn’t happy.
“If you don’t value first-class runs, it leaves a sour taste in the mouth,” said the former India batter.
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