‘It isn’t important for him!’: India pacer reacts to Sarfaraz Khan’s ‘controversial’ snub | Cricket News
Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur has said Sarfaraz Khan does not need India A exposure to play international cricket, asserting that the middle-order batter can earn a place in the Test side through strong performances in domestic cricket. Sarfaraz, 28, who made his Test debut against England in Rajkot in 2024, last featured for India during the home series against New Zealand, where he scored a century. He was recently overlooked for India A’s first-class series against South Africa A, sparking controversy and political debate on social media.Shardul explained, “Nowadays, for the India A side, they look at boys, who they want to prepare for international cricket. Sarfraz doesn’t need India A game to play international cricket. If he gets back to scoring again, he can straight away go and play Test series also.” The Mumbai all-rounder highlighted Sarfaraz’s recent domestic form and ability to perform under pressure. “He is coming from injury lay-off. But before that, he scored two-three centuries in the Buchi Babu Trophy before getting injured… It was very unfortunate to have been run out, but for him, I don’t think playing India A is important.” Thakur added that Sarfaraz is a senior batter capable of delivering in crucial situations. “He has big scores of 200-250s and those innings have come when the team was two or three down quite early in the innings. To play that kind of innings under pressure, you have to have something special in you,” he said. Sarfaraz has an impressive record in domestic cricket, with 2,541 runs in the past five years, averaging 110.47 with ten hundreds and five fifties. In his six-Test career, he has scored 371 runs at an average close to 40. His last appearance for India A was against the England Lions in Canterbury, where he made 92 runs.
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Mumbai began their Ranji Trophy campaign with a first-ever win over Jammu and Kashmir and will next face Chhattisgarh at the BKC Ground. Other Group D fixtures include Rajasthan taking on Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi facing Himachal Pradesh, and Puducherry hosting Hyderabad. The India A omission of Sarfaraz also drew reactions on social media, with Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed questioning the omission, linking it to religious bias, while BJP’s Shehzad Poonawalla strongly criticized the remarks, emphasizing that several Muslim players were included in the squad.
