'Nothing unfair': Ex-India selector happy with Sarfaraz Khan's exclusion from India Test XI

Former India selector spoke about the exclusion of the star batter Sarfaraz Khan from India's Playing XI in Tests. Paranjape feels that the competition for batting spots is quite intense as Sarfaraz came in for KL Rahul when the latter was injured.

Sarfaraz made his Test debut against England earlier this year. KL Rahul, India's preferred choice for the middle order, got injured and was ruled out of the whole series. As a result, Sarfaraz went on to play the last three Tests of the series and scored 200 runs at an impressive average of 50.

The 26-year-old impressed with his ability to score runs with intent as he displayed a full range of strokes. However, he was subsequently dropped for India's next Test series against Bangladesh in favor of KL Rahul, who made it into the Playing XI since he was deemed fit.

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Jatin Paranjape backs Sarfaraz Khan's exclusion from India's Test team

During an exclusive interview with TimesofIndia.com, Jatin Paranjape backed Sarfaraz Khan's exclusion from India's Playing XI for Bangladesh Tests. Paranjape reckons that Sarfaraz replaced an injured player (KL Rahul) in the team and will have to make way once the player is back fit.

"There is nothing unfair about Sarfaraz’s situation. He was playing because someone else was injured. The competition for batting spots is so intense that, unfortunately, someone will always miss out," Paranjape said.

The former India player further suggested that Sarfaraz has no other choice but to keep scoring runs at the domestic level and maintain his fitness going forward.

"But for the guy who misses out, what can he do? He can just keep scoring runs, and Sarfaraz (Khan) has been doing that in the Irani Cup. He needs to stay in good form, maintain his fitness, and his chances will come," Paranjape reckoned.

Will Sarfaraz Khan be selected for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy?

Jatin Paranjape is also confident of Sarfaraz Khan being in India's squad for the tour of Australia at least as a reserve player. However, he admitted that making it to the Playing XI wouldn't be easy due to the high competition in the Indian team.

"I feel he might also be taken to Australia as a reserve player. But it’s just one of those things—you can only play eleven players, and the best eleven get selected. It’s not that he isn’t good enough; it’s just that there’s a lot of competition for those spots right now," he added.

Sarfaraz Khan numbers in first-class cricket

Sarfaraz Khan is one of the finest talents in India's domestic circuit. The 26-year-old has amassed loads of runs in domestic cricket, after which he was considered for international cricket. The right-hander has a lot to offer to India in the future and is the future of India's batting.

Sarfaraz has played 51 first-class matches so far and scored 4422 runs at an average of 69.09 with the best of 301*. Recently, he scored a brilliant 222* off 286 balls against the Rest of India in the Irani Cup and helped Mumbai win the trophy after 27 years.