Two prominent batters, who were completely overlooked in the India vs Australia series despite the batting department not firing in unison, were Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran. Sarfaraz Khan showed potential in the six Tests that he has played, Easwaran has been scoring consistently well at the domestic level. Former India star Sanjay Manjrekar has a stern message over the players getting overlooked.
“Sarfaraz Khan was rewarded for his tremendous record at the first-class level. He got three 50s and 150, but then got out terribly in the next Test. But then he was completely dumped. I don’t think that’s quite right,” Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
“Even if you feel that Sarfaraz Khan might not succeed on these kinds of pitches, what if he had found a way to get runs, with the third man being his main scoring area? I mean, it was a revelation how he played against England. So let’s not try and play God too much, maybe just watch a little bit, be concerned about how they’ll shape up at the highest level. But you’ve got to reward people who’ve got runs.
“There were pre-emptions. Lot of people were playing God with Abhimanyu Easwaran watching him in a warm-up game. That’s not how it should be.”
Abhimanyu Easwaran has been around the side for three years now but there is a belief in the Indian cricketing circle that he is not cut out for bigger challenges in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia).
A proof of it the recent series, where he travelled with the squad but wasn’t even remotely in contention for a playing XI slot in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
For Sarfaraz Khan, his technique against real quick bowling was always doubtful but the manner in which he got out in Pune and Mumbai in the home Tests against New Zealand has made the current team management wary.
In most of the venues, Sarfaraz didn’t even come out to bat during the customary net sessions, an indication that he is quite low in the pecking order.
There is every chance that he might not make it to squad for the upcoming limited-overs series against England.
With PTI inputs
