Luck Or Politics: What’s Holding Back Talented Batter Sarfaraz Khan?

There was a hue and cry when Sarfaraz Khan was not picked in the India ‘A’ squad for matches against South Africa ‘A’. The Mumbai right-hander displayed a fierce determination to prove his class in Test matches against England and the first Test against New Zealand at home in 2024. The doughty middle order from Mumbai cut loose to make a brilliant 150 against fast bowlers Tim Southee, Matt Henry and William O’Rourke in the second innings of the first Test in Bengaluru. But in Pune and Mumbai, he, like majority of the Indian batters, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, did not have answers to ward off the left-arm spinners Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel. Khan was tried in the India middle order after Rajat Patidar failed to get going against England. The selection committee picked him for the tour of Australia where India played five Tests for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The team played left-hander Devdutt Padikkal in the first Test in Perth, but Khan warmed the bench in all five Tests. Unfortunately, he was dropped for the five-Test series in England where the selection committee played Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan. For no rhyme or reason Khan was dropped from the squad itself. Left in the lurch, Khan suffered further when he hurt his quadriceps in Chennai and did not return to play competitive cricket until the Ranji Trophy match against Jammu & Kashmir. Batting at No 6 and 5, he has not set the tournament on fire. Should he not bat at No 3 is what the critics are asking. As the Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur said, not being considered for the India ‘A’ team should not be seen as a setback to Khan’s career!