Shardul Thakur Comes Out In Support Of THIS 28-Year-Old To Make Test Comeback, Says, 'He Doesn't Need India A...'

Ranji Trophy 2025: Mumbai's star batter Sarfaraz Khan, who last represented India in the longest format in 2024, where he also hit a hundred against New Zealand in Bengaluru, was snubbed from India's squad for the two four-day matches against South Africa. The board's decision to drop Sarfaraz, whose batting average is more than 65 in this format, left a lot of ex-cricketers surprised. They wanted to know the reason behind dropping Sarfaraz from the team.

Mumbai's Ranji skipper, Shardul Thakur, has come in his support to return to the Test side by scoring consistently in domestic cricket.

In the pre-match press conference, Shardul revealed that Sarfaraz doesn't have to play in an India A match to play in international cricket.

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“Nowadays, for the India A side, they look at boys who they want to prepare for international cricket," Shardul Thakur told reporters in the pre-match conference.

“Sarfaraz doesn’t need the India A game to play international cricket. If he gets back to scoring again, he can straight away go and play the Test series also," he said.

“He is coming from an injury lay-off. But before that, he scored two or three centuries in the Buchi Babu Trophy before getting injured. Coming back against J&K in the previous match, he had a nice 40 (42). It was very unfortunate to have been run out. But for him, I don’t think playing for India A is important," he added.

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He was also confident that Sarfaraz was performing well in the upcoming matches, as they would try to begin their campaign on a high note.

“He is a senior pro, and whenever we put him in there in the 22 yards, he is someone who always delivers in crunch situations," he added.

“He has big scores of 200-250, and those innings have come when the team was two or three down quite early in the innings. To play that kind of innings under pressure, you have to have something special in you. He is one of the special players who never disappoints in performing and putting up big scores. He has done it for years and years. Regardless of which number he bats, I think he will deliver," he concluded.