‘Someone important in the leadership group thinking…’ - Indian team management under fire after ignoring Sarfaraz Khan for England tour

The selectors announced the India squad for the upcoming high-stakes five-match Test series against England in England, starting next month on June 20. There have been a lot of talking points since the Indian selectors announced the squad for England. The debates and discussions include some crucial omissions, alongside a few inclusions from and in the squad.

The omission of the star Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan from the senior men’s squad for the England tour drew a lot of questions on the selectors’ approach. A lot of former cricketers and experts questioned the selectors for overlooking Sarfaraz despite some brilliant outings in the home Test assignments.

Meanwhile, the former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar joined the bandwagon and slammed the Indian team management for ignoring Sarfaraz from the squad for the England tour.

“He has been left out despite his performances in recent times” – Sanjay Manjrekar  

Manjrekar also raised a few questions while discussing Sarfaraz’s batting performances in the Indian conditions and his potential to score runs in the English and Australian conditions.

“Take the example of Sarfraz Khan. Three fifties and a 150 at home in four Tests, and failures in only four innings after that, and Sarfaraz does not get a single game in Australia. So, this non-selection is not about performance; it’s about someone important in the leadership group thinking Sarfaraz will not get runs in England and Australia, and Karun Nair will. For the England tour too, he has been left out despite his performances in recent times outweighing Karun Nair’s completely,” said Manjrekar in his column for Hindustan Times.

“Under Gambhir’s stewardship and with Rohit not there anymore, I see a tendency in this management to pre-empt performances of individuals while making selections. As in, the dominating thought here is to apply their own view of the likely success and failure of players depending on conditions and opposition,” he added late.