After toiling in domestic red-ball cricket for years, Sarfaraz Khan finally made his way to India’s Test side, making his debut against England in February last year. However, the batter Sarfaraz Khan didn’t play a single game in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia before being dropped from the team entirely.
The Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan was snubbed from the Test squad to England, announced by chief selector Ajit Agarkar. R Ashwin expressed that he does not challenge Karun Nair’s inclusion, but could not understand what went wrong for the Mumbai batter.
Sarfaraz Khan ignored for England Test series 2025 creates sparks amongst cricketing fraternity.
India’s 18-member Test squad for England, which was announced on Saturday, was pretty much on expected lines. Shubman Gill was captain, Karun Nair made his much-awaited comeback to the Indian team after eight years, Sai Sudharsan and Arshdeep Singh earned their maiden Test call-ups, while the injured Mohammed Shami was ruled out.
However, the one name that polarised opinions was Sarfaraz Khan. The 27-year-old Mumbai batte Sarfaraz Khan, who hasn’t done too badly in the chances he got while playing for India, was dropped from the squad. Despite scores of 69 and 56 against England and a fantastic knock of 150 against New Zealand, albeit in a losing cause, Sarfaraz was shown the door despite being part of India’s squad in Australia.
Sarfaraz Khan didn’t play a single match in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Australia. He has scored 371 runs at an average of 37.1 from six Tests, all played at home. After a long wait for his international debut, he performed well in home series against England and New Zealand in 2024. He played his last Test against New Zealand, where he scored just one run in two innings.
However, Sarfaraz Khan is part of the India A squad touring England, where they will play two first-class matches against the England Lions starting on May 30, followed by an intra-squad game against the main Indian team.
The Indian Test Squad saw a multitude of returning superstars as Karun Nair and Abhimanyu Easwaran received call-ups for national duty. Shubman Gill was named as the new test skipper for Team India, ushering into a new era. However, the snub of Sarfaraz Khan had the fans scratching their heads as he had put up solid numbers to back his selection for the super-important England tour. R Ashwin was upset over the middle-order batter’s snub from the side.
R Ashwin Left Fuming Over Sarfaraz Khan’s Omission From Team India Test Squad For England Tour 2025
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin observed how recent squad announcements have been a major source of negativity due to the uproar over certain players being omitted. The selection committee recently named the squad for the five-match Test series against England, where several massive names like Sarfaraz Khan and Mohammad Shami were not included.
Sarfaraz Khan had waited for a long time for his international debut despite years of piling runs in the domestic circuit. He made the most of his chances in the home series against England and New Zealand in 2024, scoring 371 runs in six Tests at an average of 37.10.
However, his credentials for an overseas tour were questioned, and he failed to get an opportunity during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar series. The right-handed batter scored only one run across two innings in his last Test appearance, against New Zealand in Mumbai, and once again finds himself sliding down the pecking order.
R Ashwin opined that Sarfaraz Khan has done nothing wrong to be omitted from the team, but acknowledged Karun Nair’s case as well.
“When the Indian team gets selected now, it is not pleasant anymore. Nowadays, people are almost always angry over someone not getting selected. Look, Sarfaraz Khan has scored a lot of runs already, but Karun Nair’s selection cannot be questioned.
But if you ask me what Sarfaraz did wrong? I have no answer. I really hope someone has had a talk with Sarfaraz, there should be a call from the leadership or the management. He should be given reasoning and the way he can get back into the team,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“What will Sarfaraz Khan think now? What can he look forward to next? He’ll go back to first-class cricket and score 1000 runs, but what after that? I think it is very hard on Sarfaraz Khan, but at the same time, I am very happy for Karun Nair,” Ashwin added.
Karun Nair had a historic domestic season for Vidarbha, being among the runs in both the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well as the Ranji Trophy. He has also looked in decent touch while playing for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The test snub would be unfortunate for Sarfaraz Khan, as he had worked hard on his skills and health. He was on a special diet and had cut down a significant amount of weight. The Mumbai batter has been honing his skills under the watchful eyes of his father, Naushad, a former cricketer.
Sarfaraz Khan performed well in the home test series against New Zealand, but he couldn’t get a proper opportunity in the Border Gavaskar Trophy tour Down Under. All Sarfaraz Khan can do now is continue to feature in domestics and continue to improve his skills for the selectors to notice his progress and bring him back into the Test equation.
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