"What More He Needs To Do...": Ex-India Star Questions Sarfaraz Khan's Omission

Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan was once again overlooked by the selectors for Team India's upcoming tour of West Indies. Despite establishing himself as one of the most consistent batters in the domestic circuit, an India call up has eluded him for long. He scored 556 runs in six games at an average of 92.66 in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy campaign with the help of three centuries. In the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy season, he had 982 runs at an average of 122.75.

Taking to Twitter, former India batter Aakash Chopra slammed the selectors over Sarfaraz's non-selection and also questioned the "sanctity of first class cricket".

"Will Sarfraz be remembered as someone who scored a mountain of runs in First-Class cricket and still never got an opportunity to play for India?? I really hope that's not the case. And I hope that what more he needs to do to get picked is communicated to him. Otherwise...the sanctity of first-class cricket (the heart and soul of Indian cricket) will be lost," Chopra tweeted.

Will Sarfraz be remembered as someone who scored a mountain of runs in First-Class cricket and still never got an opportunity to play for India?? I really hope that's not the case. And I hope that what more he needs to do to get picked is communicated to him. Otherwise...the...

The likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who enjoyed a brilliant season in the Indian Premier League, were preferred over Sarfaraz Khan in India's Test side.

As far as the rest of the squad is concerned, Rohit Sharma will lead the side in both formats, while Ajinkya Rahane and Hardik Pandya will deputise him in Tests and ODIs, respectively.

In another big development, veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara was axed from the team, following his poor outing with the bat in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.