Sarfaraz Khan doesn’t need India A matches, he can straightaway play internationals if he scores: Shardul
Over the last few days, the cricketing fraternity has been divided over the omission of Sarfaraz Khan from India’s A squad for the series against South Africa.
However, Mumbai captain and India international Shardul Thakur made it clear that a seasoned campaigner like Sarfaraz does not need the India A platform to prove his mettle.
“Nowadays, for the India A side, they look at boys, who they want to prepare for international cricket. Sarfaraz doesn’t need India A game to play international cricket. If he gets back to scoring again, he can straight away go and play Test series also,” Shardul said.
“He is coming from injury lay-off. But before that, he scored two-three centuries in the Buchi Babu Trophy before getting injured. And coming back against J&K in the previous match, he had a nice 42. It was very unfortunate to have gotten run out. But for him, I don’t think playing India A is important,” the Mumbai captain said on Friday.
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In the last match that Sarfaraz Khan played for India A, he scored 92 against England Lions in Canterbury. While the series was a build-up to the five-Test series against England, the 27-year-old wasn’t part of India’s Test side.
And now, with the Indian team finding it difficult to look for a steady No.3 option, there have been suggestions that Sarfaraz should play higher up the order in Mumbai. However, Shardul insisted that there wouldn’t be any tweaks to the already ‘set batting line-up’.
However, he expects Sarfaraz to find his mojo as the tournament progresses.
“He is a senior pro and whenever we put him in there, he is someone who always delivers in crunch situations. He has big scores of 200-250s, and those innings have come when the team was two or three down quite early in the inning. So, to play that kind of innings under pressure, you have to have something special in you. He is one of the special players who never disappoints to perform and put up big scores,” Shardul said, adding: “He has done it for years and years. Regardless of which number he bats, I think he will deliver.”
Published on Oct 24, 2025
