Congress leader links Sarfaraz Khan's India A snub to 'surname', aims dig at Gambhir

After taking a dig at former India skipper Rohit Sharma on his fitness, Congress leader Shama Mohamed, on Wednesday, again sparked controversy, drawing a religious angle to cricketer Sarfaraz Khan's omission from the India and India A squads announced recently by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Taking to her official handle on X, Mohamed questioned whether Sarfaraz Khan's exclusion was due to his religious identity. "Is Sarfaraz Khan not selected because of his surname! #justasking. We know where Gautam Gambhir stands on that matter," she wrote.

Her remarks came a day after the BCCI announced the India A squads for the two four-day matches against South Africa A, scheduled to be held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

The first match is scheduled to be played from October 30 to November 2, while the second is slated for November 6 to 9. Despite his consistent domestic performances, Sarfaraz Khan was once again overlooked in both squads, triggering debates among fans and cricket analysts.

After years of toil in domestic cricket, Sarfaraz, 27, finally got to make his debut in Tests under Rohit Sharma at home against England in February last year. Since then, he has made 371 runs in six Tests at an average of 37.10, striking at a healthy 74.94, with a century and three fifties in 11 innings and a best score of 150.

He last played for India at home against New Zealand at Wankhede in November last year. Sarfaraz averages 65.19 in 56 matches in first-class cricket. In 56 fixtures, he has slammed 2,467 runs, including 16 hundreds and 15 fifties, with a strike rate of 70.99.

Sarfaraz Khan's chances of making it to the Indian Test team appear slim after being overlooked for the Australia tour, despite his impressive domestic record, which includes an average of 117.47 in first-class cricket over the last five years.

India squad for first four-day match: Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), Ayush Mhatre, N Jagadeesan (wk), Sai Sudharsan (vice-capt), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Anshul Kamboj, Yash Thakur, Ayush Badoni, Saransh Jain.

India squad for second four-day match: Rishabh Pant (capt, wk), KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sai Sudharsan (vice-capt), Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.