BCCI official reveals why Sarfaraz Khan will not break into Indian Test team anytime soon

BCCI's senior selection committee has faced the wrath of the Indian cricket fraternity for over a year now as the unit led by interim chief Shiv Sunder Das has repeatedly ignored Sarfaraz Khan while picking the Test team despite his consistent domestic performances. He was ignored for the Bangladesh tour, then the home series against Australia, and was not even picked as a standby for the World Test Championship final before being snubbed yet again for the tour of West Indies next month. And while veteran cricketers and legends continue to question the logic behind ignoring Sarfaraz, a BCCI official made a revelation that the youngster may not make the Indian team anytime soon.

Sarfaraz has grown into a force to reckon with in Ranji Trophy over the last three seasons where he scored 2566 runs. Of the total, 928 runs came in the 2019/20 season, a tally he bettered in the 2021/22 season notching up 982 runs before amassing 656 runs in the 2022/23 season which was laced with three centuries. The splendid run took his career First-class average to 79.65, which remains the highest for an Indian batter (minimum 50 innings) and second overall to Don Bradman.

ALSO READ: Truth behind Sarfaraz Khan's wild celebration that denied him Team India spot revealed: Was it for selector or teammate?

However, the Mumbai batter has been kept waiting with no official response from the selection committee members on the reason behind it. While the waiting game has angered cricket experts, what further added to their frustration was that a player like Ruturaj Gaikwad was picked for the West Indies tour whose career First-class average is just 42.

One would only advise the 25-year-old to be patient and keep working in the fashion as he has, maintaining that consistency that has defined his Ranji career, but a BCCI official, on conditions of anonymity, revealed to news agency PTI that the wait could get much longer than expected for Sarfaraz.

Sarfaraz behind Rahane, Ruturaj, Suryakumar in the pecking order: BCCI official

"Just think about it. Why was Sarfaraz not even among the reserves for the World Test Championship? Suryakumar Yadav and Yashasvi Jasiwal were the two reserves after Ruturaj pulled out due to his marriage," he explained.

According to the report in PTI, Sarfaraz is well down in the pecking order to make the Indian Test team. It explained that Ajinkya Rahane is at No.5 with Gaikwad picked as the reserve middle-order batter who can also be used as a floater. This implies that Gaikwad follows Rahane in the pecking order. Then there is Suryakumar Yadav, who although was ignored for the West Indies series is now set to play in the Duleep Trophy for West Zone. And there is also Shreyas Iyer, who is presently recovering from a back injury and would be in contention for a call-up when he becomes fit.