Congress leader Shama Mohammed has sparked a fresh controversy after criticising the exclusion of cricketer Sarfaraz Khan from both the India and India A teams announced by the BCCI.
Taking to social media on Wednesday, Shama questioned whether Sarfaraz’s religion played a role in his omission. “Was Sarfaraz Khan dropped because of his religious identity? Was he not selected because of his surname? #justasking. We already know Gautam Gambhir’s stance on this,” she wrote.
Her remarks came a day after the BCCI announced the India A squad for the upcoming four-day matches against South Africa A, to be played at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The first match will be held from October 30 to November 2, followed by the second from November 6 to 9.
Despite his consistent domestic performance, Sarfaraz Khan, 27, was once again overlooked, leading to widespread discussion among fans and cricket experts.
After years of hard work in domestic cricket, Sarfaraz made his Test debut under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy against England in February last year. Since then, he has played six Test matches, scoring 371 runs at an average of 37.10, including one century and three fifties. His highest score is 150, with a strike rate of 74.94 in 11 innings.
He last played for India in a Test match against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in November last year.
In first-class cricket, Sarfaraz boasts an impressive average of 65.19, with 16 centuries and 15 half-centuries in 56 matches, accumulating 2,467 runs at a strike rate of 70.99.
