NEW DELHI: Sarfaraz Khan, a consistent performer in domestic red-ball cricket, endured a disappointing outing in Mumbai’s recent Ranji Trophy match against Chhattisgarh, managing just one run. The 26-year-old middle-order batter, widely backed by fans and pundits for national selection, had recently been overlooked for the India A squad against South Africa A, prompting surprise and debate.On a seamer-friendly Bandra-Kurla Complex pitch, Sarfaraz was dismissed by Chhattisgarh’s left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate after facing only six deliveries.After the dismissal, Sarfaraz shared an Instagram Stories post showing his TV screen playing the song Restart from the movie 12th Fail, with his India Test cap and Mumbai cap visible behind the television.This came after a relatively better performance in his previous Ranji outing against Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar, where he scored 42 and 32, marking a return from injury.Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur defended Khan’s international prospects despite his India A omission.
“Nowadays, for the India A side they look at boys, who they want to prepare for international cricket. Sarfaraz doesn’t need India A games to play international cricket. If he gets back to scoring again, he can straightaway go and play Test series too,” he said.“He is coming from an injury lay-off. But before that, he scored two or three centuries in the Buchi Babu Trophy. Coming back against J&K, he had a nice 40 (42). It was very unfortunate to have been run out. But for him, I don’t think playing India A is important. He is a senior pro and whenever we put him in there in the 22 yards, he is someone who always delivers in crunch situations,” Thakur added.Thakur also praised Sarfaraz’s ability under pressure: “He has big scores of 200-250s and those innings have come when the team was two or three down quite early. To play that kind of innings under pressure, you have to have something special. He is one of the special players who never disappoints. “Regardless of which number he bats, I think he will deliver.”
