Correspondent, 23 October: Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer has shared his perspective on the continuous exclusion of Sarfaraz Khan from the national squad, despite the batter consistently scoring heavily in domestic cricket. Addressing the issue directly for the first time, Jaffer claimed on his YouTube channel that there appears to be a reason beyond cricket and the player's on-field performance contributing to his ongoing omission.
Highlighting that the batter's impressive statistics are visible to everyone, Jaffer noted it seems the selection committee simply does not want to include him in the team. "No matter how many runs he scores and whatever his average is, they do not want to select him. I don't know the exact reason behind this, but it is extremely unfortunate," he stated.
Reflecting on earlier eras, Jaffer recalled that the Ranji Trophy once held unparalleled significance. Strong performances in the Ranji tournament would pave the way to the Duleep Trophy and subsequently open the doors to the 'India A' squad. However, he observed that the current landscape has completely shifted, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) now taking precedence. Both the selection committee and the players focus heavily on the IPL, which has become a primary pathway to international cricket for many. In this context, he mentioned that both Rinku Singh and Tilak Varma are players for all three formats.
Sarfaraz boasts a stellar first-class record, having accumulated 18 centuries across 96 innings. His average in first-class cricket stands at a massive 70.67. He recently registered a 154-run knock in his final Ranji outing against Himachal Pradesh. He played his last international match against New Zealand in 2024. In the six Test matches he has played for India, he has recorded one century and three half-centuries, averaging 37.10.
Despite possessing such formidable numbers, the batsman remains persistently absent from the selectors' radar. Jaffer expressed his astonishment that even when Sarfaraz was drafted as a replacement for the injured Sai Sudharsan during the August Test series against Sri Lanka, he was denied a spot in the playing eleven.
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