‘Stop playing Ranji Trophy’: Sunil Gavaskar slams selectors for ignoring Sarfaraz Khan for WI Tests

Renowned former India cricket captain, Sunil Gavaskar, has expressed his disappointment with the selectors for overlooking Sarfaraz Khan for the upcoming two Tests in the West Indies. In his opinion, the Ranji Trophy tournament loses its significance if players are selected for the Test team solely based on their Indian Premier League (IPL) performances.

As a seasoned commentator, Gavaskar believes that it is imperative for Sarfaraz to be included in the India squad, and that the selectors should take note of his exceptional talent. It is high time for the selectors to recognize the potential of this young cricketer and give him the opportunity to showcase his skills on the international stage.

“Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons. What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team,” Gavaskar said while speaking to India Today.

“Tell him that his performances are being recognized. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it’s of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red ball game as well,” he continued.

For those who may not be familiar with him, Sarfaraz Khan has had an impressive performance in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy, accumulating 556 runs in just six games with an average of 92.66, which includes three centuries. The right-handed batter had also scored 982 runs in the previous Ranji season, with an average of 122.75 and four tons.

Overall, Sarfaraz Khan has scored a total of 3505 runs in 37 first-class matches, with an average of 79.65 and 13 centuries.

India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.

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