India batter Sarfaraz Khan has been unceremoniously kept out of the Test side ever since his debut in February 2024 and then his last appearance coming that year itself in November during a home Test series against New Zealand.
After that, the narrative was made that Sarfaraz is not suited for overseas conditions which saw him being sidelined for the Border Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year and the five-Test tour of England in July.
Furthermore, he wasn’t a part of the India A side when Australia A came in September for two multi-day games and three ODI matches. While it was understood that Sarfaraz missed the cut due to his rehab from a quadriceps injury he suffered during Buchi Babu tournament, his omission from the recently announced India A team for the upcoming two unofficial Tests against South Africa A has raised eyebrows. This is because he is already back to playing competitive cricket and featured in the first round of Ranji Trophy 2025-26 for Mumbai against Jammu & Kashmir.
With the main IND vs SA series slated to start from November 14, recent developments indicate that there is no scope for Sarfaraz Khan to break into the Indian Test team for the remaining home Tests this year. However, another comeback star Shardul Thakur, who made a return to the Test setup for the England tour after being on the sidelines for over a year, has suggested how Sarfaraz can also do the same.
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Sarfaraz Khan last played for India A during the England tour and scored a 92 in the only innings he batted. In the ongoing Ranji Trophy too, he got off to good starts (42 and 32) but could not convert his innings into a big knock.
Shardul feels that Sarfaraz does not need to play India A games to make the cut for the Proteas series, but can rather go directly from Ranji Trophy.
Echoing on how the 28-year-old can get the attention of the selectors again, Shardul said to Revsportz, “He scored two-three centuries in Buchi Babu (tournament) also, before getting injured,” the senior all-rounder pointed out. Coming back to (the Ranji Trophy), against Jammu and Kashmir also, he had a nice 40. He unfortunately got run out. For him, though, I don’t think playing India A is important. If he scores runs (in Ranji Trophy), he can straightaway go and play (the) Test series (against South Africa).”
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