On Friday, the BCCI announced the squads for the upcoming T20I, ODI series vs New Zealand, and for the first two Tests of the four-match series against Australia. There were some obvious names and big surprises like the return of Prithvi Shaw, who will be making a comeback to the Indian team after 537 days. He has been named in the roster for the T20Is against New Zealand. Meanwhile, the BCCI have also awarded Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan with their maiden Test call-ups. Surya was picked as a replacement in the Test squad in the home series against England but this was the first time he was named in the starting Test squad.
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Despite the surprises, fans were left aghast by the exclusion of Sarfaraz Khan, who didn’t find a spot in the squad for the two Tests vs Australia in Nagpur (February 9-13) and Delhi (February 17-21). The 25-year-old has registered 431 runs in five games for Mumbai in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, packed with two tons and a half-century. Last season, the batter bagged 982 runs in six games, at an average of 122.75. He also hammered four centuries. Many fans felt that he deserved a spot, instead of Suryakumar or Kishan, considering his form.
While Kishan’s selection as a backup keeper to KS Bharat is understandable considering the unfortunate road accident to Rishabh Pant, which has, in probability, sidelined him for about six months, the decision to prefer Suryakumar over Sarfaraz is bound to raise plenty of questions. Especially when the Indian team management, including captain Rohit Sharma, has gone public about not mixing formats when it comes to selecting teams.
“Selecting Suryakumar Yadav ahead of Sarfaraz Khan in Tests is an insult to Ranji Trophy. That guy has been one of the most consistent run-getters in First Class cricket and deserved that call-up more than anyone. Baffling selection by this committee, yet again,” came a reaction.
“Ishan Kishan and SKY in squad,fair to say that Ranji performances have started to hold less value and public opinion has started to hold more sway. Ishan still understandable but SKY selection is baffling and won’t sent good signal to guys like Sarfaraz and Hanuma”, wrote another.
Famous cricket broadcaster Harsha Bhogle said, “Very hard on Sarfaraz Khan who has literally broken the door down in first class cricket. You can’t do more than he has.”
“Sarfaraz Khan must be devasted! When will he get rewarded for his performances? A player who’s scoring tons every now and then and still doesn’t get picked while almost everyone else finds a place is something really tough to take!”
Rohit will be captaining the Test side, with KL Rahul as his deputy. The side consists of veterans like Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami will be leading the pace battery.
India’s squad for first 2 Tests vs Australia:
Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, C Pujara, V Kohli, S Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav
