With so many promising youngsters knocking on the door, Indian cricket might be nearing another transitional period. With seniors such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in their mid-30s, and undergoing a bit of a slump in form, the next generation of Indian cricketers are waiting. More and more youngsters are getting an India cap, as evident in ODIs and T20Is, but there is one youngster making noise in the domestic circuit whom the great Sunil Gavaskar has backed to make his India debut soon.
Sarfaraz Khan, 24, has been in the form of his life. The youngster from Mumbai has scored piles and heaps of runs, coming off a super-successful Ranji Trophy season. In Mumbai’s road to the Ranji trophy final, Sarfaraz was their shining star, scoring a jaw-dropping 982 runs from six Tests, at an unbelievable average of 122.75 including four centuries and two fifties. The clamours for Sarfaraz’s inclusion in the Indian Test squad is growing louder with Gavaskar saying that it would be a real surprise if the 24-year-old is not selected for India’s next Test series after the Edgbaston Test.
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“Sarfaraz Khan’s tremendous run of hundreds should bring him into contention for a place in the national team where with Rahane gone and Pujara getting one last chance to score and keep his place in the team and go on to play a century of Test matches the door could open for Sarfaraz. He certainly has banged the selection committee’s door down and it would be a real surprise if his name doesn’t figure in the squad for the next Test series,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day.
India’s next Test assignment will be a four-match series against Australia at home in October-November, right after the T20 World Cup, and whether Sarfaraz will be in reckoning by then remains to be seen. As for other young talents, Gavaskar has named a few that have impressed him immensely in the just-concluded Ranji Trophy season.
“There are some others too like Rajat Patidar who has also been tremendously consistent in what has been a breakthrough season for him. India are blessed to have such talent which is keeping the seniors on their toes and ensuring there is no room for complacency at all,” added the former India captain.
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