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New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named the India A squad for the upcoming four-day matches against South Africa A. The headline of the squad remained that wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant made his comeback after recovering from a toe injury suffered earlier in the year during he England tour.
While Pant was named as the skipper for both the matches, Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan did not find a place in the team which came as a big shock. The likes of Rajat Patidar, Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal all found a place in the squad but Sarfaraz, who was one of the best performers for India A against England A, was not picked up.
Not only in the India A matches against the English side where he scored 92 runs in an innings rescuing the side after a troubled start under tough batting conditions, Sarfaraz has bee contributing in the domestic circuit as well.
The Mumbai player had a terrific start to the domestic season as he scored a century in the Buchi Babu Trophy before getting injured. That quadriceps injury sidelined him from the Duleep Trophy where he missed showcasing the magnificence of his batting skills.
The right-handed batter then recovered from the injury and is representing Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season which started just a week earlier. While fitness also does not seem to be a concern for the young batter so far as he has scored 74 runs across two innings in Mumbai's first match against Jammu and Kashmir.
While nothing can be official commented as he reason behind the ouster of Sarfaraz but the possible reasons could be the rise of some other batters in the Indian camp and the preferring all-rounders over specialists batters for future. While Sarfaraz was trying to recuperate from the injury, others in the side especially Rajat Patidar made the most of the opportunity.
After having an impactful run in he Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy, Patidar smashed a double century in he first Ranji Trophy match against Punjab. With a flawless run in the domestic matches, Patidar is surely going to be in the scheme of things for India in future Test matches. Patidar was rewarded for his solid performance, others in the camp like Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel earned a place as they would be an integral part of the South Africa Test series.
With the Indian management picking and referring multi-faceted players like Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, who are part of the Australia series, Sarfaraz might have lost his name as he's just a specialist batter while the few others in the camp can fulfill the role of a spinner as well.
