Sarfaraz Khan Has Done Nothing Wrong, Says Former India Star, But Must Await His Next Opportunity

One of the most prolific young batters in the domestic cricket in India, Sarfaraz Khan has finally, after a long time wait, found his place back in the Indian test squad. The last time he was part of the squad in a test series was during the 2024-25 tour of Australia that India lost 3-1.

Since then he has been sidelined despite piling on heaps of runs in the domestic matches. However, an injury to Sai Sudarshan opened a spot for him in the 15-member squad that is currently preparing for the two-match series against Sri Lanka starting from August 15.

Although it is confirmed that the Mumbai lad will travel to Sri Lanka, whether or not he will find a place in the final playing XI for the first test match at Galle is a question that everyone is asking. Speculations have been rife that he may actually get a nod to feature in the test ahead of Dhruv Jurel owing to his recent poor form and performance in the three-day warm-up match against SLC XI where he notched up scores of 1 and 17.

Former Indian spinner and commentator, Murali Kartik believes that Khan has to await his chances and the Indian team management should stick with Jurel for now, as he has been part of the national test set-up for a longer period than the Mumbai batter.

While speaking to Hindustan times during a media interaction, Kartik said, “Look, he has made his way into the side in place of Sai Sudarshan. The reason why I am saying that Dhruv Jurel has been part of the side. Dhruv Jurel is a very handy test batter. He has done exactly what the team has asked him to do. So, I would want him to start in the playing XI. Sarfaraz has done nothing wrong. But he is coming in as a replacement.”

He further added, “For me, I think going forward, the key for the Indian team going forward in this test cycle is the kind of consistency we show in the way we play, in the way we pick sides, and also the messaging. So, it's very important that the players feel very secure about their places in this playing XI. And from that point of view, and from just the point of view that Dhruv Jurel is also a wonderful wicket-keeper if needed. So, I would like Dhruv Jurel to start.”

It is worth mentioning that Sarfaraz had played a 150-run knock against New Zealand in 2024, but two poor games led to the right-hander warming the bench for the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and subsequently, he was shown the door from the squad. A lot has been made about what led to Sarfaraz's exclusion, but no one said it aloud in the media.

Trust Your Batters

Under the leadership of the current head coach of India, Gautam Gambhir it has been a pattern that the players who can offer something with both bat and ball are given a preference in the team. While this approach may have yielded results for India in the T20 format, in the longest format of the game, the bowling department has often looked compromised, especially since the retirement of spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin. And with the unavailability of Jasprit Bumrah for the series, the bowling department is quite inexperienced and looks undercooked, opined Kartik.

Kartik too feels that the batters need to be trusted by the management, and the need of the hour is to have more specialist bowlers in the playing XI.