Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at the national selectors for making Cheteshwar Pujara the “scapegoat” and ignoring prolific domestic scorer Sarfaraz Khan for the two Tests in the West Indies next month.
Referring to Sarfaraz’s non-selection, Gavaskar questioned the logic behind having the Ranji Trophy if performance in the country’s premier domestic tournament is not looked into while picking the Indian red-ball teams instead of taking into account the players’ record in the IPL.
“Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons. What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team,” Gavskar told Sports Today.
‘Stop playing Ranji Trophy’
“Tell him that his performances are being recognised. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it’s of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red-ball game as well.”
With the help of three centuries, Sarfaraz amassed 556 runs in six games at an average of 92.66 in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy.
‘Why drop Pujara?’
As far as Pujara is concerned, his absence from the Indian Test team for the Windies tour has been one of the talking points.
He said not having millions of followers on social media platforms, like some of the other India stars such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, is no reason to drop anyone. “Why has he been made the scapegoat for our batting failures? He has been a loyal servant of Indian cricket, a quiet and able achiever. But because he doesn’t have millions of followers on whatever platforms who would make a noise in case he gets dropped, you drop him? That is something beyond understanding,” said Gavaskar.
Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar questions exclusion of Cheteshwar Pujara for West Indies series
Meanwhile, former India player Wasim Jaffer slammed the selection policy and has questioned the need for four openers in the 16-member team, while pointing out that Sarfaraz could have been picked as a middle-order batting option.
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