"What should Sarfaraz do?" - Aakash Chopra questions Sarfaraz Khan's non-selection in India's squad for WI Tests
Aakash Chopra has questioned Sarfaraz Khan's non-selection in India's Test squad for the West Indies tour.
The selectors picked a 16-member Indian squad for the two-match series, with the first Test starting in Roseau on July 12. Sarfaraz, who has scored tons of runs in first-class cricket, was once again denied a place in the Indian Test side.
While reflecting on the selected squad in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was peeved by Sarfaraz's omission:
"What should Sarfaraz do? If you see the first-class runs for the last three years, if the guy was going head and shoulders above the rest and scoring a lot of runs everywhere, and if he is not selected, what message does it send? This is a question worth asking."
The former Indian opener believes the reason behind the Mumbai batter's non-selection should be made public:
"If there is something else that you or I don't know, then I would say make it public, that you didn't like this thing about Sarfaraz and because of which you are not considering him and you will be able to consider him going forward if he rectifies that. Is there anything like that - I or you don't know."
Sarfaraz has amassed 3505 at an excellent average of 79.65 in 37 first-class games. He was reportedly not picked for the Indian team earlier due to fitness issues but no official reason has been given for his exclusion in recent times.
"It leaves a little sour taste in the mouth" - Aakash Chopra on Sarfaraz Khan being ignored
Aakash Chopra highlighted that Sarfaraz Khan's non-selection raises a question of whether first-class performances are valued enough:
"I don't know if someone has called up Sarfaraz and told him about it but I am not aware. But if you don't value runs in first-class cricket, it leaves a little sour taste in the mouth, whether it is the right thing."
While acknowledging that both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad deserved to be in the Indian Test squad, the cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by reiterating that Sarfaraz's non-selection is debatable:
"I am very happy for Yashasvi. His runs are not only from the IPL, he has scored runs in first-class cricket as well. You can say the same thing about Ruturaj Gaikwad as well. He is promising and has scored runs in first-class cricket for a long time but Sarfaraz Khan's name not being there is definitely a topic of discussion."
Jaiswal enjoys an outstanding record in first-class cricket, having amassed 1845 runs at an average of 80.21 in 15 games. Gaikwad has not been as prolific as the two Mumbai batters, aggregating 1941 runs at a decent average of 42.19 in 28 first-class matches.