What more Sarfaraz Khan needs to do to earn a much-deserving Test call-up? Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has fired a fresh salvo at the Chetan Sharma-led All India Selection Committee for ignoring rising star Sarfaraz amid his red-hot form in the domestic arena. Overlooked for the high-profile Test series between India and Australia, promising young talent Sarfaraz notched up another hundred to continue his mesmerizing run on the Indian domestic circuit.
Days after former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad slammed the national selectors for ignoring Sarfaraz, batting legend Gavaskar extended his support to the in-form batter by taking an epic dig at the All India Selection Committee. The former India skipper and full-time cricket pundit also lashed out at Sarfaraz’s critics for questioning his fitness. In his hard-hitting statement against the national selectors, batting legend Gavaskar opined that cricketers come in all shapes and sizes.
“If you are looking for only slim and trim guys, then might as well go to a fashion show and find some other models and give a bat and ball in their hands and then improve them. That’s not the way cricket goes. You have cricketers in all shapes and sizes. Don’t go by the size, go by the scores or wickets. He is not staying off the field when he scores a hundred. He is back on the field again. So, all that tells you is that the man is fit,” Gavaskar told India Today.
Gavaskar’s remarks arrived days after Sarfaraz slammed his third century in the 2023 edition of the Ranji Trophy. The premier batter propelled Ajinkya Rahane-led Mumbai to 293 in their 1st innings against Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Legendary cricketer Gavaskar also asserted that Yo-Yo Test can never be the only criteria for selection.
“How can you score runs? I think at the end of the day if you are unfit, you aren’t gonna score hundreds. Cricket fitness is the most important thing. Yo-Yo Test can’t be the only criterion. You got to make sure that the man is cricket fit as well. If the person, whoever it is, is cricket fit, then I don’t think it should be any matter,” Gavaskar added.
