Gautam Gambhir, Ajit Agarkar Called Out Over India Squad For England Tests: "With Rohit Sharma..."
India's squad for the five-match Test series against England saw the return of several players who have done well in domestic cricket, headlined by the likes of Karun Nair and Shardul Thakur. However, former India cricketer and renowned cricket expert Sanjay Manjrekar has raised an eyebrow at the process of selection for the Test squad. Taking the example of Sarfaraz Khan, who was left out of the England tour squad after not being given a match in Australia, Manjrekar criticised the selection, particularly raising a finger at the method of head coach Gautam Gambhir.
"Under Gautam Gambhir's stewardship and with Rohit not there anymore, I see a tendency in this management to pre-empt performances of individuals while making selections," Manjrekar wrote, in his column for The Hindustan Times.
"As in, the dominating thought here is to apply their own view of the likely success and failure of players depending on conditions and opposition," Manjrekar added.
Manjrekar raised the case of Sarfaraz, stating that he had perhaps been dropped harshly from the scheme of things.
"Take the example of Sarfraz Khan. Three fifties and a 150 at home in four Tests and failures in only four innings after that and Sarfaraz does not get a single game in Australia," Manjrekar said.
"For the England tour too, he has been left out despite his performances in recent times outweighing Karun Nair's completely. So, this non-selection is not about performance, it's about someone important in the leadership group thinking Sarfaraz will not get runs in England and Australia, and Karun Nair will."
Sarfaraz Khan had lost 10 kg through a strict diet plan ahead of the Test series against England, according to a report by India Today. Sarfaraz, who made his debut for India back in 2024, has not played a single overseas Test match. The batter has been picked in the India A squad for the two matches against England Lions and the report claimed that he was getting ready to make the most of his opportunity. Sarfaraz reportedly is on a strict diet of boiled vegetables and chicken to improve his fitness.
India A are scheduled to play two games against England Lions (May 30-June 2 in Canterbury and June 6-9 in Northampton) and one intra-squad match against the senior India Test squad (June 13-16 in Beckenham).
Nair, who scored a triple hundred against England in Chennai in December 2016, scored 863 runs at an average of 53.93 in Vidarbha's Ranji Trophy winning 2024/25 season and became the fourth-highest run-getter of the tournament.
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