In first-class cricket, 133 players have scored more than 2,000 runs at an average of 50 or more. Of them, 14 have an average in excess of 60, while only two have crossed 75: Sarfaraz Khan and Don Bradman.

Sarfaraz’s exploits in first-class cricket in the last few years have been so out of the ordinary that even people who normally have nothing to do with the Indian domestic circuit are rooting for his selection in the national side.

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Yet, despite getting close and despite the Indian team seemingly entering a transition phase where Cheteshwar Pujara, a veteran of 103 Test matches, was dropped for younger cricketers, Sarfaraz is yet to find a way into the Indian Test squad, let alone the XI.

Given the selectors’ reluctance to communicate their thought processes behind their selections – and non-selections – one can only speculate what the reasons might be behind Sarfaraz not being picked despite piling on truckloads of runs for fun in the last few domestic seasons.

IPL performances

Performances in the IPL have always been looked at as one of the criteria for selection in the Indian team, especially in the limited-overs formats. However, going by recent trends, the weightage given to this criteria seems to have increased a bit, even for Test cricket.

While there has been no official word from the selectors admitting to this, the reasoning behind it is understandable to an extent. The IPL provides a bridge between domestic and international cricket in terms of the quality of opposition, and a platform where players get exposed to levels of pressure that are hard to replicate in domestic cricket.

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Naturally, when a potential prospect who has been on the radar of the selectors and the national team management does well in the IPL, it creates a significant positive impact, signalling that he is ready to take on international cricketers.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal have been two of the most promising Indian batters across the last few seasons of the IPL. Since 2021, Gaikwad has scored 1,593 IPL runs at an average of 37.93 and a strike rate of 138, while Jaiswal has scored 1,132 runs at 34.3 and 152.

Sarfaraz, on the other hand, has struggled to get going in the IPL. He broke into the RCB side in 2015 as a 17-year-old who would get Virat Kohli to bow down to his scoop shots. However, since 2018, he has only managed 408 runs at an average of 20.4 and a strike rate of 118.

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Despite getting a golden opportunity in IPL 2023 when Delhi Capitals started with him as their stopgap wicketkeeper in the absence of Rishabh Pant, he was unable to utilise his chances as he only managed 53 runs at an average of 13.2 and a strike rate of 86.

India A performances

If the IPL is a bridge between domestic and international cricket, so are the ‘A’ games. These games have the added advantage of being played in first-class and List A formats, where players do not necessarily have to score 30-ball fifties to prove their first-class batting credentials.

In his six first-class matches for India A, all since 2021, Sarfaraz has not been able to replicate his domestic numbers. In seven innings, he has scored 205 runs at an average of 34.16, a far cry from his domestic first-class average of 86.84 in non-India A matches.

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These includes two fifties, against a South Africa A attack of Beuran Hendricks, Glenton Stuurman, Lutho Sipamla, Marco Jansen, and George Linde in South Africa, and against a New Zealand A attack of Jacob Duffy, Matt Fisher, and Rachin Ravindra in India.

It has not helped him that India A have not played as many matches as they used to before the pandemic. Neither is seven innings a large enough sample to judge, nor is an average of 34 horrible. Yet, it is the steep drop from an domestic average of 87 that has perhaps not given the selectors and management enough confidence.

Re-emergence of Ajinkya Rahane and no real vacancies

Returning to the Test XI in the World Test Championship final after injuries to Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, Rahane turned out to be India’s best batter in the game. Consequently, he has been given back vice-captaincy of the Test team for the West Indies tour.

Had Rahane not done well in the final, chances are that he would have been dropped for the West Indies tour along with Pujara, paving the way for Sarfaraz to get a maiden call-up. That has not happened. The No.5 slot – the one which Sarfaraz is best suited for – is blocked at the moment.

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Even if Rahane fails to deliver against West Indies, Iyer, incumbent No.5, may be fit and raring to go by the time India’s next Test series comes along, making Sarfaraz’s wait a potentially long one.

Gaikwad and Jaiswal, on the other hand, are both top-order batters. One of them and Shubman Gill will occupy the No.3 spot left vacant by Pujara’s absence while one will serve as the reserve opener.

Perceptions

There have been some question marks over Sarfaraz’s ability to handle pace, fitness, and performances against top domestic sides. Most of these claims are perception-driven and do not have a lot of substance behind them.

While he did seem to get a bit hurried by pace in IPL 2023, a couple of false shots in the slam-bang of T20 cricket should not be enough to judge a batter’s first-class batting abilities. As far as fitness is concerned, he may not be the slimmest, but his consistent scoring in the last few seasons, including seven scores in excess of 150 are clear indicators that he is fit enough to survive the rigours of Test cricket.

His performances against the better teams in Indian domestic cricket have been outstanding as well. In first-class cricket, he averages 101.83 against Saurashtra, 82 against Madhya Pradesh, 79 against Karnataka, and 43 against Bengal – and these are among the top Indian domestic sides in the last few years.

What next for Sarfaraz Khan?

While he has done all that he can in domestic cricket, Sarfaraz Khan has not yet left the same kind of mark at the next level, i.e., in the IPL and for India A. The re-emergence of Rahane has also hurt his chances, and while the perceptions about him might be far from correct, they do have an impact.

Luckily, at 25, he still has time on his side. With his domestic record, he is bound to get more chances in the IPL and at the ‘A’ level. The Indian Test team is also set to go through turbulent times in terms of personnel changes in the near future.

The best thing Sarfaraz can do for himself right now is to sit tight, continue his good work, ramp up his IPL and India A returns, and hope that the stars line up for him.