Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan was once touted to be the next big thing in Indian cricket. Having turned 29 on Thursday, the batter has only six Tests to his name in his international career so far. The last of which was the Mumbai Test against New Zealand in late 2024, where he scored just one run.
Former India batter Wasim Jaffer questioned the selectors on Khan’s snub despite good batting performances. “Speaking about Sarfaraz, there is something about it that the selectors simply don’t want to select him. He has been performing well and has also scored a ton in the last Ranji game,” he said.
“In his short career, Sarfaraz has already scored 18 centuries. I feel the selectors don’t want to pick him, and I don’t know the reason behind this. I feel this is beyond performance and cricketing reasons, and it doesn’t matter how many runs he scores or what his average is. There can be no other reason than this, and I think it is unfortunate, and it is what it is,” he added.
The 29-year-old scored 154 in the last game for Mumbai in Bilaspur against Himachal Pradesh. Before that, he played the opening game of the season against Chandigarh, scoring just one. Khan was also part of the Rest of India team that won the Irani Cup against Jammu and Kashmir, amassing 45 runs.
So far, the youngster has played 65 first-class games, accumulating 5314 runs with 18 centuries and 16 fifties and has an average of 64. The closest the batter has come to playing for India was during the recent tour of Sri Lanka, when he was called up as the replacement for Sai Sudharsanwho failed to recover from his injury.
Former batter laments lack of importance given to Ranji Trophy
Wasim Jaffer recalled how Ranji Trophy was once considered important to make it to the Indian side. “Back in the day, Ranji Trophy was everything, and there was no IPL. If a player did well in Ranji, he was selected for the Duleep Trophy, and then the India A side to play a touring team. Now things are different, and IPL is the key. Cricketers and selectors give it a lot of attention. We have seen so many players get India call-ups because of their performances in the IPL.”