Team India has once again kept Sarfaraz Khan out of the playing XI. Sarfaraz has not got a chance in the first test match being played against Sri Lanka in Galle. Dhruv Jurel has been given preference over 28-year-old Sarfaraz, who came into the team in place of injured Sai Sudarshan. Jurel will bat at number-6. This 25-year-old wicketkeeper batsman has not been able to score any half-century in the last 7 Test innings. Jurel proved to be a huge flop in the home Test series against South Africa at the end of last year.
He scored only 29 runs in 4 innings in 2 test matches. South Africa had defeated India in this series. Jurel was also given a chance in the only Test against Afghanistan in June this year but he could only score 19 runs. In this match, KL Rahul (100) and captain Shubman Gill (126) played century innings. Whereas Sai Sudarshan and Rishabh Pant had scored 81-81 runs. Washington Sundar came in at number seven and played an unbeaten inning of 52 runs, which shows how good the pitch was for batting.
Also Read: JioHotstar or Sony LIV, where will India vs Sri Lanka Test be shown on mobile?
Sarfaraz is far ahead of Jurel in statistics
Sarfaraz and Jurel started their Test career together against England in Rajkot in 2024. While Sarfaraz has got to play only 6 Tests, Jurel is playing his 11th Test. Sarfaraz has scored 371 runs in Test cricket at an average of 37.10. During this period, he has scored 1 century and 3 half-centuries. Talking about Jurel, he has scored 478 runs at an average of 34.14. He has scored 1 century and 1 half-century in Test cricket.
Sarfaraz's statistics in first class cricket are incredible. He has scored 5114 runs in 62 first class matches at an unmatched average of 64.73. He has scored 17 centuries and 16 half-centuries. His best score in first class cricket is 301. Jurel has so far scored 2538 runs in 36 first class matches at an average of 55.17. During this period he has scored 6 centuries and 15 half-centuries. His best score is 249.
Also read: Player was chatting with girlfriend after leaving the match, BCCI gave big punishment
Jurel is no match for Sarfaraz in red ball cricket. Sarfaraz is also better than him in terms of playing spin. Despite this, the Indian team management has played Jurel and not Sarfaraz in Galle. It is noteworthy that Sarfaraz had gone to Australia with Team India for the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy but he was seen only giving water in the entire 5 test match series.