IND vs WI: Why was Sarfaraz Khan not selected in India test squad? Revealed

Sarfaraz Khan last played for India during test series against New Zealand at home in 2024.

The Indian squad for the West Indies test series was announced on Thursday (25th September) with the Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar addressing a press conference in Dubai. The two teams will be locking horns with each other in the two-match series, to be played from October 2 to 14. 

While the Indian squad seemed pretty balanced, there were some notable omissions as well. One of them was Sarfaraz Khan, who made his test debut against England during the home series in 2024 under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. 

Sarfaraz Khan was a permanent member of the Indian side after that series and also travelled to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. However, he didn’t get an opportunity during the series and was dropped for the England tests. 

There were reports which claimed that Sarfaraz Khan had been told by the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) to focus on fitness. The batter shed around 17 kgs of weight and then had a terrific start to the domestic circuit, slamming a ton in the Buchi Babu Tournament.

It was then expected that he would be back in the mix for the West Indies tests. But his name didn’t feature in the squad and this made many point out their fingers at the BCCI for not picking the batter. 

Sarfaraz is injured – Ajit Agarkar

Ajit Agarkar was asked about Sarfaraz Khan’s selection, to which he was quick to quip that the batter is injured. He said: “Sarfaraz is injured.”

Although the batter is currently recovering from a quadriceps injury at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), there were reports, which claimed the batter is likely to regain full fitness by September 29. This comes as a massive surprise as he is amongst the best domestic batters in India. 

Sarfaraz Khan, who was also not named in the Rest of India squad for Irani Cup 2025-26, has scored 371 runs at an average of 37.1 with a century and three fifties in his test career so far. 

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