Why isn’t Sarfaraz Khan selected even for India A?

He averages 117.47 over the last five years in first-class cricket with five fifties and 10 hundreds, amassing 2,467 runs. And yet what one gets about him are baseless whispers.

First they were about his weight, then about whether he could step up to the international level. Sarfaraz hit three fifties against England, averaging 50 in three Tests. He then hit a hundred against New Zealand in the home series which India lost 0-3. He went to Australia late last year, but didn’t play. At times, he didn’t get a chance to bat even in net sessions. At the end of the tour, he was dragged into conspiratorial whispers. Then, it was about an injury, as if he never recovered from it. He did, and also lost 17 kg.

On Tuesday, the senior selection committee headed by Ajit Agarkar announced the India A side set to play two four-day games against South Africa at home. In the 15-member-squad, the panel again found no place for Sarfaraz.

India’s Sarfaraz Khan plays a shot on the third day of the first test cricket match between India and New Zealand, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)

Fundamentally, there seems to be a disbelief over his talent. That he somehow can’t play international cricket with his game, and he isn’t given a chance to succeed or fail. Even after good performances against England and New Zealand. The scales against him keep shifting. First it was about his prowess against international quality bowling, and when he performed, it shifted to the argument that he can’t be a success overseas.

It was deemed he wouldn’t be a success in England, and India chose to take Karun Nair and Sai Sudarshan. Days before the Test series in England started, Sarfaraz slammed 92 against England Lions in Canterbury for India A. He followed it up with an unbeaten 102 in an intrasquad game, hitting Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep.

His last appearance for India was last November when he played the three-Test series against New Zealand at home and scored one century. He was the third-highest run-getter (171 runs) in the series after Rishabh Pant (261) and Yashavi Jaiswal (190).

In the team announcement conference before the England tour, Agarkar was asked about Sarfaraz’s omission.

“Sometimes, you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know he got a 100 in the first Test and then didn’t get runs. Sometimes, it’s decisions the team management takes. At the moment, Karun has scored heaps of runs in domestic (cricket), has played a bit of Test cricket, played a bit of county cricket. With Virat (Kohli) not there, clearly we’re lacking a bit of experience. We felt his experience could help. We can’t pick 50 players now, so naturally when you have to pick 18 players, some players will be missing out,” Agarkar had said.

No clarity in selection calls

However, when the India A squad was picked for a tour of England that coincided with the senior series, Sarfaraz’s name featured in the third-last column in the list of selected players. Almost as if it was an afterthought. That’s when he hit that 92 against the Lions.

It’s learnt that he was only included in that team because it was felt that his absence might raise uncomfortable questions as he was a contracted player. It’s also learnt that a message was passed to the batsman that he will be considered for home Test series. But Sarfaraz wasn’t selected for the two-Test series against West Indies at home, because he wasn’t fully match-fit and the Centre of Excellence (COE) had not cleared his fitness. The senior selection committee picked that team on September 25 while Sarfaraz cleared his fitness test on September 27.

Unlike many Indian players, the Mumbai batsman didn’t get the leverage of ‘subject to fitness’ category in his selection.

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.

For a player who only plays red-ball cricket, the Ranji Trophy argument (better for him to play Ranji Trophy instead of India A) sounds like an excuse. Selection for India A means a player is considered in the scheme of things. It gives him the much-needed boost to push his case.

Not long ago, when he was captain, Rohit Sharma was asked in an interview to name three celebrities he would like to take for dinner. Rohit said he wasn’t interested in celebrities but would prefer his “garden-waale bande” (garden mates, referring to that famous viral clip of him shouting stuff about garden-mein-ghumne-wale …). “Mere garden-waale bande: Sarfaraz Khan, Shubman Gill, Dhruv Jurel, Jaiswal,” Rohit listed as his preferred dinner guests.

It’s not even been a year since then and Sarfaraz now finds himself caught in a tunnel without any light at the end.