Cheteshwar Pujara has opened up about Sarfaraz Khan's exclusion from the India's 18-member Test squad for the upcoming five-match Test series against England. Despite being selected for India's last red-ball tour to Australia, the 27-year-old's name was not found when Ajit Agarkar-led side announced squad for the highly-anticipated Test tour of England. Pujara was optimistic about seeing the right-hand batter's name in the squad.
However, it was not to be, as Sarfaraz did make the cut. Pujara feels the selectors might have dropped him as they felt he would not score in seaming and swinging conditions in England.
"The reason he is not in the squad, I feel, is he has been very successful in the Asian conditions or in India. The management feels that he may not be as successful in Australia or in England. And there were some fitness issues in the past. I don't know about his current fitness. But he has been working hard on his fitness also. So, at this stage, I feel it's a bit unfortunate. But at the same time, someone like Karun Nair, who has performed really well in domestic cricket, deserved an opportunity," Pujara told Hindustan Times.
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Sarfaraz Khan did not play a single game during Australia Test series
It is interesting to note that Sarfaraz Khan did not even play a single Test during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under last year. Rohit Sharma instead preferred all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy at number six. Sarfaraz made his debut in 2024 against England in February. Later on, he was part of two of India's home series against Bangladesh and New Zealand. Fitness was one of issues, which the Agarkar-led panel had always a point of difference when it came to the 27-year-old.
For the same reason, he shed almost 10 Kilos of weight before the England series. Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar had some bitter facts to share about the Mumbai batter being overlooked.
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"It's tough, that's what cricket is all about. When you get opportunities, you have to make sure the place is yours. Even if you score a hundred, you should make sure that you don't go into your next innings thinking you scored a hundred in the previous knock. You have to get your eye in and get those runs again. You must not give anybody a chance to push you out of the team," Gavaskar told India Today.
