When the Indian Test squad for the West Indies was picked, the decision to leave out Sarfaraz Khan from the Indian team for the West Indies tour received criticism from Sunil Gavaskar. However, according to sources the BCCI does not want to select Sarfaraz due to his ill fitness and also the kind of abrupt manner and discipline he shows on the field.
While talking about the selection criteria for PTI and Sarfaraz inclusion from the team, the source said, “The angry reactions are understandable but I can tell you with some degree of certainty that the reason behind Sarfaraz getting ignored time and again is not just cricketing one. There are multiple reasons for which he hasn’t been considered.”
The Mumbai batsman has scored a total of 2566 runs over the past three Ranji seasons. In the 2019/20 season, he scored 928 runs, and then 982 runs in the 2021-22 season, and 656 runs in the 2022-23 season.
“Are the selector’s fools to not consider a player who has scored 900 plus runs in successive seasons? One of the reasons is his fitness which isn’t exactly of international standard. “He has to work hard, maybe shed weight and come back leaner and fitter as it’s not just batting fitness that is the sole criteria for selection,” the source added.
A close source of Sarfaraz has informed that during a fitness Test at National Cricket Academy(NCA), the batter scored 16.5 points which are considered to be a good one. Further, the source stated that fitness is not the only thing selectors look upon.
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“His conduct on and off the field hasn’t exactly been top-notch. Certain things said, certain gestures made and some incidents have been taken note of. A bit more disciplined approach would only do him a world of good. Hopefully, Sarfaraz along with his father and coach Naushad Khan will work on those aspects,” the senior official added.
