The exclusion of Sarfaraz Khan from the India A squad to face South Africa A has sparked controversy, with reports suggesting that Rishabh Pant's return to captain the side played a significant role in the decision. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced the India A squad for the upcoming two four-day matches against South Africa A, scheduled to begin on October 30.
Rishabh Pant, who was recovering from a foot injury sustained during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 in England, is set to lead the team, marking his return to competitive cricket. Sai Sudharsan has been appointed as Pant's deputy for the red-ball series. The squad includes Rajat Patidar, who captained West Zone to the Duleep Trophy title. KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Abhimanyu Easwaran will join the squad for the second four-day game.
Sarfaraz Khan's omission from the squad has led to outrage among fans and cricket enthusiasts. Despite scoring a remarkable 92 runs in the first unofficial Test match between India A and England A and reportedly losing a considerable amount of weight to meet fitness criteria, Sarfaraz failed to secure a place in the India A side. This decision has left many questioning the selection process, especially considering Sarfaraz's consistent performance in domestic cricket.
Sarfaraz Khan has been a consistent performer in domestic cricket, averaging 110.47 over the last five years in first-class cricket with five fifties and 10 hundreds, amassing 2,541 runs. He also made his international Test debut against England in February 2024, scoring 62 and 68* in the Rajkot match. Despite these performances, he has not been able to find a regular spot in the Indian team.
According to The Indian Express, Sarfaraz was not selected for the Test series against the West Indies because he was not fully match-fit, and the Centre of Excellence (COE) had not cleared his fitness. The senior selection committee picked the team on September 25, while Sarfaraz cleared his fitness test on September 27. Unlike many Indian players, Sarfaraz did not get the leverage of the 'subject to fitness' category in his selection.
Some reports suggest that Sarfaraz's inclusion in the India A squad for the tour of England earlier this year was partly to avoid controversy, given his BCCI contract status. However, even after performing well on that tour, he remains on the sidelines.
The official word from chief selector Ajit Agarkar was that Sarfaraz was injured when the committee sat down to pick the team for the West Indies Test, suggesting he was still in contention for the national side. However, the India A omission now suggests otherwise. With Rishabh Pant likely to return for the South Africa series, and Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel already in line for spots in the middle-order, Sarfaraz's repeated snub does not bode well for his future Test squad selection.
