Sarfaraz on Selectors’ Home-Conditions View: ‘It’s Their Perspective, My Job Is to Play’

Mumbai: Sarfaraz Khan has been left out of India A’s squad for the shadow tour of New Zealand, a decision that followed his return to the national setup in Sri Lanka without a single game. The omission stung, but the 28-year-old has settled on a philosophy that carries him through the uncertainty.

“Obviously. Whenever a team comes out, I have expectations,” Sarfaraz said after the first day’s play of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy fixture against Railways at the Brabourne Stadium. “But it’s okay. It’s in their hands whether to select me or not. My job is to play cricket.”

Sarfaraz last played for India nearly two years ago, against New Zealand at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium. He did make it back into the squad for the two Tests in Sri Lanka in August as a replacement for the injured Sai Sudharsan, though he did not feature in either match.

That stint, however, gave him an insight into how the selectors view him. “The selectors didn’t say it to me directly, but when I went to the Indian team recently, I heard that they are looking at me more for Indian conditions,” he said.

The framing sits uneasily with his record. “But still I have a question, that when I went to South Africa, I scored runs. When I went to England, I scored. So sometimes when you make a comeback and you get a rank turner in India, suddenly you can’t perform very well on a difficult wicket after scoring in domestic cricket. Or if you do, then 30-40-50 runs are enough on it. But it is not that I have not scored runs outside. I scored outside too.”

The record supports the argument. Sarfaraz has played seven first-class matches for India A outside India, scoring 300 runs at an average of exactly 50 with three half-centuries. Two of those games came in South Africa in 2021, two in Bangladesh in 2022 and two more in South Africa in 2023, with a lone appearance in England in May 2025.

“So it’s okay. Ye unka nazariya hai. My job is to play cricket. And I will play.”

The Grind of Starting Again

Sarfaraz made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2014. Twelve years later, he finds himself in the same routine, a reality he describes without self-pity.

“It’s very difficult to score runs every season,” he said. “I think I am still doing the same thing that I did with my father in the beginning. I don’t take off in the off-season, and I practice and keep batting. I don’t know how many runs I am going to make”.

“Everyone knows if you want to meet Sarfaraz Khan, you don’t have to go to his house, you can meet him at Azad Maidan or Cross Maidan at 6 in the morning. It’s very difficult to restart every year, come every year and work hard. Sometimes you get success, sometimes you don’t. But this is my job, can’t do anything.”

This season he has scores of 1, 154, 40 and 55, an average of 62.50 across four innings. The production continues. The question of why persists.

“So many things have happened,” he said. “I am not thinking much. I wake up every morning and ask myself the same question, why should I work harder? I have played for India, but I wake up at 5 in the morning and go. I can play for Ranji Trophy with normal hard work. I’m still scoring 30, 40, 50, 100. So sometimes I get these questions in my head. But it’s okay. When I see that my father is working hard, he is sweating it out, then it’s okay. I will go and score for him. It motivates me to wake up every morning”.

“Everyone knows that I don’t have any other support in my life. If I have support, it’s only from my father. No one has supported me in my life. But it’s okay. I worked hard; I fulfilled my father’s dream. It’s not easy to play for India, especially in this generation. And it’s not like I scored once or twice and played for India. I scored 300, 200, 250 and worked hard and played for India.”

The Weight Loss and the Reality of It

In an attempt to force his way back into the Test squad after being dropped in 2024, Sarfaraz undertook a strict regime of exercise and diet last year, shedding 20 kg from 97 kg to his current 77 kg. The pictures he posted went viral, though he insists the initiative was his own.

“No one told me that I have to lose weight,” he said. “But whatever I heard on social media, or from someone, that maybe I should lose weight. So I did it. Because whatever I hear, that I should work on something, I am doing that in my life. I can’t do anything more than that”.

“In reality, I was overweight. There is no doubt about that.”

The acceptance is total. The ambition remains, but it no longer governs his mood.

“Motivation is to play cricket, that’s it. Wherever I get a chance, I will play cricket. When it’s off-season, I don’t like to sit at home. I think I’m made for cricket. Wherever I get an opportunity. Ranji Trophy, Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare, IPL, Indian team calls me, I will go. If India A calls me, I will go. I want to play cricket.”

“I’m not thinking much, I am just playing wherever I get a chance,” he added. “They will call me up again, I will go and play. Otherwise I’ll continue to play here.”

                                               

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