Sarfaraz Khan officially receives 'Doors are Closed' message from Indian teammate

Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed his surprise over Sarfaraz Khan's non-selection in the Indian team. His comments have come after Sarfaraz was omitted from the India A squad.

The right-handed batsman from Mumbai was not considered for the upcoming red-ball series between India A and South Africa A.

Sarfaraz left out of India A squad

The call from the selectors has taken many by surprise. Not very long ago, Sarfaraz was a regular in the Indian Test team, but he has now seemingly fallen out of favour with the selectors and the team management.

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Having lost his place in the senior Test team, Sarfaraz Khan's decline has reached a point where he is not even being considered for the India A squad as well. What is baffling about the entire episode is that he has been one of the most consistent batters in domestic cricket in recent years.

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He has done extremely well for India A as well. He has scored 4,759 first-class runs at an average of 65.19 in 56 first-class matches so far. In Tests, Sarfaraz has scored 371 runs in 6 games, including one century and three half-centuries.

Ravichandran Ashwin on Sarfaraz Khan's omission:

It seems like not only the fans but Ravichandran Ashwin is also struggling to find the logic behind Sarfaraz Khan's omission. The India great said that he feels 'very, very sad' for the youngster. He also highlighted Sarfaraz's commitment for the game, saying that the batter has lost weight and has performed well too.

"I can't find any logic behind Sarfaraz's non-selection in the India A side. I feel very, very sad for him. If I were a selector, what would I call and tell Sarfaraz? He has reduced weight, he has scored runs too, he even hit a century against New Zealand.

"This kind of non-selection leads me to think that someone, somewhere thinks, 'Sarfaraz Khan ko dekh liya, abhi nahi chahiye (We've seen Sarfaraz Khan, don't need him anymore).'

"He has not been selected in the India A side. What happens to him now? Literally, the door has been shut on him. Where will he perform? Now if he does well in first-class cricket, they will say he is a very good player in first-class, so he won't get an A series. Where will he go and prove his credentials?" Ashwin said.

"When such a non-selection happens, it probably feels like someone in the management or the selectors has decided that we are not looking at him anymore," he added.

Ranji Trophy the only option

Sarfaraz is currently plying his trade for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. He recently played knocks of 42 and 32 against Jammu and Kashmir and would be keen to score heavily in the domestic circuit once again.