India have been criticised for demoting Sarfaraz Khan to No.8 in favour of maintaining a left-right combination during the India-New Zealand Mumbai Test.
With Mohammed Siraj employed as a nightwatchman on the evening of day one, the India batting lineup was bound for a reshuffle. However, Sarfaraz Khan had to make way for Ravindra Jadeja, eventually coming out to bat at No.8 – potentially to maintain a left-right combination.
Former India batter and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar was vocal in his criticism of India's approach, questioning how the "in form" Sarfaraz had to be pushed down the order.
"A guy in form, has 3 fifties in his first 3 Tests, gets 150 in the Bangalore Test, a good player of spin, pushed back in the order to keep left & right combination?? Makes no sense. Sarfraz now walking in at no 8! Poor call by India," Manjrekar wrote on X
It is to be noted that Sarfaraz hit a 150 in the opening Test of the series from No.4, just two weeks back. Since then, he's batted at six, seven, and now eight.
In Mumbai, Sarfaraz was dismissed for a four-ball duck, edging behind an Ajaz Patel special that turned and bounced. It's now his third duck in ten Test innings.
Sarfaraz would have been kicking himself for the missed opportunity, for Mumbai is his home turf where he regularly practises with his father and brother Musheer.
Sarfaraz's first-class performances in Mumbai
| Ground | Matches | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | 100 | 50 |
| Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai | 4 | 6 | 2 | 601 | 301* | 150.25 | 2 | 1 |
| Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai | 3 | 5 | 2 | 300 | 126* | 100 | 1 | 2 |
| Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai | 1 | 2 | 1 | 177 | 162 | 177 | 1 | 0 |
Maintaining a left-right combination has been one of the obvious tactics under Gautam Gambhir's four-month long coaching stint. It began with his maiden ODI campaign, against Sri Lanka, when Washington Sundar was pushed up to four and Shivam Dube was held back to No.8 (and promoted to four the next match). KL Rahul, too, batted at No.7 for the first time in his career.
The reshuffle also left R Ashwin to bat at No.10 for the first time in his 105-Test career.
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