'Sarfaraz Khan doesn’t need India A game to make international comeback': Shardul Thakur

Sarfaraz Khan (BCCI Photo)

It’s rare for a captain to say the quiet part out loud, but Shardul Thakur did exactly that on the eve of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy opener. Asked about Sarfaraz Khan’s omission from the India A squad for the South Africa A unofficial Tests beginning October 30, Thakur said the middle-order batter no longer needs such bridging assignments to prove his red-ball credentials.

The right-handed batter is making a significant comeback after a brief injury absence, but he is also coming off of years of impressive Ranji performances and crisp domestic runs. Instead of taking any detours, Thakur addressed the straightforward fact that if he regains his form, choose him for Test cricket.

“Nowadays, for the India A side, they look at boys, who they want to prepare for international cricket. I feel Sarfaraz doesn’t need an 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 Thakur was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

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He added: “But before that, he scored two-three centuries in the Buchi Babu Trophy before getting injured. Coming back against J&K in the previous match, he had a nice 40. It was very unfortunate to have been run-out. But for him, I don’t think playing India A is important.

“He has big scores of 200-250s, and those innings have come when the team was two or three down quite early in the innings. 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. He has done it for years and years. Regardless of which number he bats, I think he will deliver.”

There is much truth to Shardul's assertion. The Indian selection committee has also come under heavy fire for Sarfaraz's recent expulsion. Sarfaraz has been unrelenting in his efforts to score runs and demonstrate his effectiveness during the previous three Ranji tournaments. With 982 runs in 9 innings at an average of 122.75 in 2021–2022, including four hundreds and a peak score of 275, he led the charts.

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Following this, Sarfaraz scored 556 runs at an average of 92.66 in 2022–2023—again demonstrating exceptional efficiency—and even scored 200 runs at an average of 50 in 2023–2024, which was cut short. This indicates that the batter doesn't require any bridging assignments because they are prepared for the highest level of cricket.