Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 was named after Australia. After a decade long wait, the Kangaroos finally captured this trophy. Team India is being heavily criticized after being defeated 3-1 in the Test series. Captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir are also under question. The playing eleven of the Indian team kept changing throughout the series but there was one player who kept on serving only drinks in 5 matches. The surprising thing is that while many star players were seen struggling in Tests in 2024, this player scored runs throughout the year.
We are talking about Sarfaraz Khan, who was included in Team India in the Test series against Australia, but did not get a place in the playing eleven in even a single Test. The surprising thing is that the team management expressed confidence in Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel, but despite scoring runs continuously, Sarfaraz was ignored.
It is not that Sarfaraz Khan was not in form. While the rest of the Indian batsmen were surrendering in the Test series against New Zealand, Sarfaraz scored a brilliant century in Bengaluru. Earlier, while playing for Mumbai in the Irani Cup 2024, he had also scored a double century. In 2024, Sarfaraz was seen creating a stir in domestic cricket and that is why he got a place in Team India. However, he was completely ignored on the Australia tour.
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has raised questions on Team India management for ignoring Sarfaraz Khan in the series against Australia. Giving his opinion on ESPN Cricinfo, he said that Sarfaraz Khan was rewarded for his excellent performance in domestic cricket. He played 3 half-centuries and one 150-run inning for India. He definitely flopped in the next few matches but he was completely ignored in the Australia series, which is not right. Even if you think that Sarfaraz will not be successful in scoring runs on these pitches, it was possible that he would find a way to score runs, so he should have been given a chance.
Mumbai batsman Sarfaraz Khan got a chance to make his Test debut in the series against England in 2024. He has played 6 matches for India so far and has scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10. Sarfaraz has scored 3 half-centuries and one century during this period.
