Indian cricket fans were left baffled after Sarfaraz Khan once again missed out on Test selection, omitted from the national squad for next month’s series against Australia despite another prolific summer in the Ranji Trophy.
On Saturday morning AEDT, India unveiled a 17-member squad for the first two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which gets underway in Nagpur on February 9.
Wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan earned a maiden call-up, with incumbent gloveman Rishabh Pant recovering in hospital following last month’s car accident, while paceman Jasprit Bumrah is also unavailable due to injury.
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But the selection of white-ball phenom Suryakumar Yadav raised plenty of eyebrows.
The 32-year-old has been a revelation in the game’s shortest format since making his T20I debut in 2021, and national selectors have rewarded the right-hander with a Test call-up.
Yadav boasts respectable numbers in first-class cricket, averaging 44.75 with the bat in the red-ball format, including 14 centuries and 28 fifties in 79 matches.
Yet Sarfaraz, who averages 80.47 in first-class cricket, was ignored.
The 25-year-old has been one of the Ranji Trophy’s most consistence performers this season, pummelling 431 runs at 107.75 in five games for Mumbai.
Last summer, Sarfaraz smacked 982 runs in six games at an average of 122.75, including four centuries. Only one cricketer in history with at least 50 innings boasts a higher first-class batting average – Sir Donald Bradman.
“Sarfaraz’s name is still not there. He feels he got cheated because his name should probably have come,” former Indian cricket Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
“When you picked Surya, it means a slot had opened up. In my opinion, Sarfaraz should have gotten that chance because Sarfaraz‘s first-class average is 80.”
Highest first-class batting average
95.14 – Donald Bradman
80.47 – Sarfaraz Khan
71.64 – Vijay Merchant
69.86 – George Headley
67.46 – Ajay Sharma
* Minimum 50 first-class innings
Ravindra Jadeja, who has not played any professional cricket since August 2022, was also named in the squad, but the BCCI clarified that his inclusion was “subject to fitness”.
Rohit Sharma will captain the side with opening partner KL Rahul serving as his deputy, while veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will be accompanied by Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
India squad for first two Tests against Australia
Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav
