The Board of Control for Cricket in India finally revealed the Indian Test team for the upcoming multi-format away series against West Indies. As predicted earlier, in-form youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturraj Gaikwad earned maiden call-ups but one surprise name missing from the 16-member squad was Sarfaraz Khan.
As expected, the management made big changes to their red-ball team with Cheteshwar Pujara and Umesh Yadav being dropped after a poor show in the ICC World Test Championship final 2023. Ajinkya Rahane regained the vice-captaincy role after admirable innings against Australia at The Oval while the experienced pacer Mohammed Shami is given rest.
Sarfaraz, the 25-year-old middle-order batter, remains out of contention despite scorching tons of runs in domestic cricket for the last three years. The Mumbai batter has scored 3505 runs in 27 First Class matches at an average of 79.65 with 13 centuries but still finds no place in India's national team.
India's loss in the WTC final is expected to open doors for Sarfaraz for the West Indies tour. But the player's performance in the recently concluded Indian Premier League 2023 seemed to have played a crucial role in his chances. On the other hand, the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal are riding success on their stunning outings in IPL 2023.
Sarfaraz's absence has angered Indian cricket fans who expressed their disappointment on social media and also criticized BCCI for selecting the Test team based on IPL performances. Many accused the management of overlooking Sarfaraz and are demanding their reasoning.
Twitter reaction to Sarfaraz Khan's absence in India Test squad vs West Indies:
India Test Squad for West Indies: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini
