Shama Mohamed, the national spokesperson for the Congress, has accused Gautam Gambhir of religious bigotry and blamed Sarfaraz Khan's exclusion from top national cricket team tasks. Sarfaraz didn’t get the chance to play in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia and last appeared for India in the home series against New Zealand in November 2024.
Despite going through a drastic weight-loss transformation, he was not picked for the England tour and was not given a chance to play in the home series against the West Indies. When the Mumbai batter was left off of the India A squad for the series against South Africa A, fans were taken aback.
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Mohamed took to X to ask whether Sarfaraz's last name wasn't a factor in his selection. The Congress leader's remarks followed Sarfaraz's exclusion from the India A team's October–November match against a visiting South African team in Bengaluru.
Referring to Gambhir's stint in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mohamed posted on X: "Is Sarfaraz Khan not selected because of his surname ! #justasking . We know where Gautam Gambhir stands on that matter."
Shama Mohamed has already caused controversy with her opinions on cricket. When the Congresswoman referred to Rohit Sharma as "fat for a sportsperson" and the "most unimpressive" skipper in Indian history earlier this year, she drew criticism.
According to a report in India Today, Asaduddin Owaisi, the president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), asked on Tuesday why Sarfaraz, who has consistently performed well in domestic cricket, was not even selected for the India A team.
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India Today also quoted AIMIM spokesperson Waris Pathan as saying on Wednesday: "When a man is averaging so much, there's definitely more to it. Why hasn't he been picked?"
After a lengthy wait, Sarfaraz made his Test debut and has amassed 371 runs at an average of around 40 in six Test matches. In his final series for India against New Zealand last year, he scored a hundred (150).
Critics were urged not to politicize selection calls in Indian cricket by Mohsin Raza, the former Minorities Welfare Minister of the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh.
"No need to politicise this. Playing with cricketers' future, these so-called Muslim leaders. Shami plays, Siraj plays. This is unfair," he told India Today.
Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the senior selection committee, had said that Sarfaraz Khan was not included in the home series against the West Indies last month due to injury concerns. Due to a quadriceps injury, the Mumbai batter had missed the Irani Cup and the Duleep Trophy.
But there were concerns when he was repeatedly left out of the Test teams for the England and Australia tours earlier this year. Sarfaraz never made an appearance with the senior Test team, despite traveling with the India A teams on both tours. Notably, he hit 92 against the England Lions in Canterbury, silencing detractors with a strong showing in English conditions that are conducive to pace and bounce.
When India chose Karun Nair, the senior Karnataka batsman, over Sarfaraz for the five-Test series in England, more questions were asked. Prior to that tour, Sarfaraz reportedly lost about 10 kg as part of his intense exercise regimen.
"Sometimes you just have to make good decisions. Sarfaraz, I know he got a 100 in the first Test (against New Zealand) and then didn't get runs. Sometimes these are decisions the team management takes. At the moment, Karun has scored heaps of runs in domestic cricket, has played a bit of Test cricket, played a bit of county cricket. With Virat not there, clearly we're lacking a bit of experience. We felt his experience could help," Agarkar had said before the England tour.
India did not recall Sarfaraz, even after dropping Nair after a forgettable tour of England. His most recent exclusion from the India A team has caused a stir, with many wondering if the prolific Mumbai batsman is now deemed unable to play even for the reserve teams.
During the current Ranji Trophy season, Sarfaraz will try to get back in the reckoning. After returning to competitive action with a century at the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in Tamil Nadu earlier this month, he had a quiet start to the season against Jammu and Kashmir. Sarfaraz will undoubtedly be in the mix with his first-class cricket average of 65.19 per innings across 56 games.
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