Former India player WV Raman has stated that the selectors might have had valid reasons for ignoring Sarfaraz Khan for India’s upcoming tour of the West Indies. However, the selectors recently picked the Indian squad for the two Tests and three ODIs against the West Indies as well. Sarfaraz’s non-selection in the Test squad made headlines as many cricket experts, including legends like Sunil Gavaskar, believes he should be in the team.
In a video shared on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube, Raman said: “There were some views expressed supposedly by the selection committee with regards to his (Sarfaraz’s) non-inclusion. One of them seems to be that he needs to improve his ability to play against fast bowling and the other thing seems to be that he needs to improve on his fitness and fielding as well. Somebody can turn around and ask me, what is it that they are trying to convey and do they think they are gods. No, they are not gods. They are not trying to really find faults with Sarfaraz Khan.”
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WV Raman also said that Sarfaraz’s non-selection does not mean that the Indian Premier (IPL) has taken precedence over domestic first-class tournaments like the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy as well.
He added: “What happens generally is that in a selection committee meeting, they not only see the numbers that a cricketer has put up, they also try and discuss about the various things that they might have detected in a cricketer’s framework of technique or his attitude, or the perceived ability of a cricketer with regard to international cricket.”
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“That’s exactly what this committee has done. They feel that Sarfaraz Khan may perhaps not be up to it when it comes to facing international fast bowlers. These kind of judgemental calls are the norm in selection committee meetings. This has been done before, this committee has done it and it will also be done in the future,” WV Raman concluded.
