Sarfaraz Khan , the Mumbai middle-order batter, wasn’t selected for the Indian Test team tour to the West Indies recently. Since then, the 25-year-old has been getting tremendous support from the cricket fraternity, including the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, the former India captain, who criticised the selection committee for overlooking such a bright, young cricketer.
But, in a surprising turn of events, a BCCI official has reportedly claimed that the reason for the non-selection of Sarfaraz Khan on the national side is not just a cricketing one. They have mentioned that the lack of fitness and discipline are the prime reason for his omission.
While speaking to PTI, the source connected with BCCI was quoted as saying, “The angry reactions are understandable but I can tell you with some degree of certainty that the reason behind Sarfaraz getting ignored time and again is not just cricketing one. There are multiple reasons for which he hasn’t been considered.”
“Are the selectors' fools to not consider a player who has scored 900 plus runs in successive seasons? One of the reason is his fitness which isn’t exactly of international standard. He has to work hard, maybe shed weight and comeback leaner and fitter as it’s not just batting fitness that is sole criteria for selection,” the BCCI source remarked.
In the PTI report, there were two instances of ill-discipline from Sarfaraz Khan that were mentioned in detail. His celebration after scoring a century against Delhi in Ranji Trophy wasn’t liked by the former chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma, who was present in the stands. Also, the former coach of Madhya Pradesh, Chandrakant Pandit, wasn’t happy with the 25-year-old cricketer for his conduct during a break in a Ranji Trophy match.
The source of BCCI said, “His conduct on and off the field hasn’t exactly been top-notch. Certain things said, certain gestures made and some incidents have been taken note of. A bit more disciplined approach would only do him a world of good. Hopefully, Sarfaraz along with his father and coach Naushad Khan will work on those aspects.”
