Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif said the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel made a wrong move in omitting Sarfaraz Khan for the England tour. Khan had scored a fine knock of 150 runs against New Zealand while playing at home but he didn’t get his chance on the Australian tour despite being part of the team.
Surprisingly, the youngster, who has performed so consistently in the domestic circuit, was ignored for the England tour. The 27-year-old has scored 371 runs in six Test matches at an average of 37.1. The Mumbai batter played his last Test against New Zealand but returned with scores of 0 and 1 on a spin-friendly pitch at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
“With Sarfaraz Khan, it has been injustice with him. Him not being in the team is a wrong decision. Sarfaraz Khan scored a 150 in seaming conditions in Bangalore against the best bowling side New Zealand against whom you lost all three Tests. Since his Test debut he has scored almost 50 runs in each game apart from few innings,” Kaif said on his YouTube Channel.
“You invested in him and he was on the path of becoming a solid player and then you did not play him a single Test match in Australia and then dropped him. It is absolute injustice with him. He is scoring for India A as well and is proving time and again as to what sort of a batter he is. He is doing his job but his exclusion is a wrong call and he was a deserving player,” he added.
Kaif believes Khan has the same ability as Rishabh Pant to change a game on its head if he plays for two hours.
“A player like him if he plays even two hours he will change the game. Sarfaraz Khan has the ability to do what Rishabh Pant has done for India in Tests,” Kaif added.
On the other hand, Kaif told Virat Kohli’s fans that the former Indian captain would not make a U-turn on his Test retirement.
“Virat Kohli’s fans still want that he makes a comeback and starts playing again. Their wish is that they want to see him and will not be able to sleep without that. There are those kind of fans who may not even watch the game without him. Virat Kohli is not coming back. He will not comeback in Test matches. He will play ODI and IPL. Now he has moved on and fans need to understand this. If he has taken retirement from Tests he would have given it a lot of thought. Having now taken the call, I do not think he will comeback no matter how the Indian team plays,” Kaif opined.
The opening Test match between India and England will be played at Leeds, Headingley, from June 20 onwards.
