Ashwin Shocked After Sarfaraz's Latest Snub By BCCI: "Don't Need Him"
Sarfaraz Khan's non-selection continues to remain a mystery. If not getting a regular chance in the Indian cricket team despite a stellar domestic record wasn't enough, the batter is now not being considered for the India A side either. He last played for India in November, 2024 (against New Zealand at home), and since then has been waiting for his next opportunity. On Tuesday, when the India A squad for two four-day matches against South Africa A was announced, Sarfaraz's name was missing - despite him performing better than most during the India A tour of England earlier this year.
Sarfaraz has 4,759 first-class runs at an average of 65.19 in 56 matches. He has played six Tests, scoring 371 runs, including one century and three half-centuries. He was not picked for the recently held Test series at home against the West Indies.
"I can't find any logic behind Sarfaraz's non-selection in the India A side. I feel very, very sad for him. If I were a selector, what would I call and tell Sarfaraz? He has reduced weight, he has scored runs too, he even hit a century against New Zealand. This kind of non-selection leads me to think that someone, somewhere thinks, 'Sarfaraz Khan ko dekh liya, abhi nahi chahiye (We've seen Sarfaraz Khan, don't need him anymore).' He has not been selected in the India A side. What happens to him now? Literally, the door has been shut on him. Where will he perform? Now if he does well in first-class cricket, they will say he is a very good player in first-class, so he won't get an A series. Where will he go and prove his credentials?" Ashwin fumed.
"When such a non-selection happens, it probably feels like someone in the management or the selectors has decided that we are not looking at him anymore."
Ashwin added that the communication and selection strategy should align.
"The problem is that your communication and selection should match. I remember Subramaniam Badrinath used to play for the India A team and was the captain as well for a long time, but did not get selected. The same happened to Manoj Tiwary. The communication that went through was that 'we have seen enough of you, and now we want to take a look at fresh faces. So you won't be playing for the India A team anymore, but if we need you in the Indian team, we will pick you,'" he said.
"But if you look at the current India A side, there is a little bit of confusion. If you say we have seen enough of Sarfaraz in India A, and only if we need him will we pick him in the Indian side, then that will be wrong. Because you picked Abhimanyu Easwaran, and he has played enough for India A. However, barring these cases, the rest are all futuristic - Harsh Dubey and Manav Suthar."
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