Priyank Panchal slams Indian selectors for not picking Sarfaraz Khan for England tour

Former India A captain Priyank Panchal took to X (Formerly Twitter) to vent his frustration that solid domestic performers are not getting a chance to make it to international cricket. Notably, Sarfaraz Khan slammed 92 runs against England Lions in the first unofficial Test in Canterbury.

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It’s important to note that Panchal recently announced his retirement from first-class cricket after putting up consistent, solid performances for his state team, Gujarat, and leading India A successfully multiple times.

“This stigma around solid domestic performers not being up to the mark for international cricket and hence not making the cut to final squads needs to go," Panchal posted on X (formerly Twitter).

The middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan, despite doing well in domestic cricket and for India, didn’t get a chance to make it to the England tour, scheduled to start on June 20 at Headingley, Leeds.

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After putting up consistent performances in domestic cricket, Sarfaraz made his Test debut against England at home in February 2024. He went on to score two fifty-plus knocks, and later, he smacked his maiden Test century against New Zealand in Bengaluru.

However, while he was part of the India squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia in December 2024 and January 2025, he failed to make it to the playing XI in any of the Tests, which India lost by 1-3.

With the England tour lined up from June 20, the Indian selection committee has decided not to go ahead with Sarfaraz Khan and instead selected Karun Nair, who had an exceptional Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season. Interestingly, Nair smacked a double century for India A against England Lions.

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India’s squad for England tour: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

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