Sarfaraz Khan: India’s Ranji Trophy star snubbed for West Indies tour; know why crickets fans are slamming BCCI

After the unfortunate defeat of India against Australia in the recent WTC finals, the boys are now all set to face West Indies in Test, ODI and T20 formats. The matches are going to take place next month. Fixtures and venues have been decided for the first two formats. The squad looks exciting with Yashaswi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad as new entrants after their exploits in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. However, Ranji Trophy star Sarafaraz Khan was not selected again despite his excellent performance in domestic matches. 

Sarfaraz has played 37 first-class matches and scored 3505 runs with an average of 79.65. It also includes his 13 hundreds and 9 fifties with a highest score of 301 not out. Despite this incredible record in the past few seasons, the 25-year-old was still not picked in the squad by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selectors. 

The young cricketer hailing from Mumbai gained attention at the age of twelve when he broke the record by slamming the highest score of 439 runs for his school in the Harris Shield International tournament. He also gained a spot in the Indian squad in the U-19 World Cup 2014 and scored 211 runs at an average of 70.33. Soon after, he also played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2015 and became the youngest player to have ever played in an IPL match.

Earlier also, the right-handed batsman was ignored by the BCCI in the India vs Australia Test series. Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, who are excellent players especially in the T20 format, made it to the Test squad. But Sarfaraz, despite having scored so many runs in the red ball domestic matches, was not given a chance. In the last three seasons of the Ranji Trophy, Sarfaraz scored 928, 982 and 556 runs. 

Sarfaraz’s non-selection in the squad has also disappointed Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar. He is unhappy with the decision taken by the selection committee. He believes that Sarfaraz should at least have been picked up in the squad, if not in the playing 11. 

This has flamed a lot of outrage amongst netizens who are also blaming the selection committee for engaging in favouritism towards certain players. Well, the BCCI also has a reason for Sarfaraz’s ‘non-selection’ and it’s not the overlooking of his performances, it is something else.

A BCCI official privy to the matter, told PTI on condition of anonymity, that Sarfaraz’s absence from the squad has more to do with his fitness which doesn’t meet the requirements of international standards.

He further revealed that Sarfaraz needs to shed some weight and come back leaner and fitter as batting is not the only important factor for selection.

The first India vs West Indies Test match will take place from 12 to 17 July, starting from 7:30 pm. The match will take place at the Windsor Park Sports Stadium, Dominica.