Why was Sarfaraz Khan not picked in India’s Test squad for West Indies series?

BCCI announced India’s 15-member squad today for the upcoming two-match Test series against the West Indies. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar attended the press conference from Dubai for the announcement. Sarfaraz Khan’s name, surprisingly, went missing from the squad yet again as he wasn’t picked for the Test series against England too.

The cricketer had done nothing wrong in the first place to be left out of the squad for the England series and isn’t selected for the home series against the Caribbean side now. However, Ajit Agarkar confirmed the presser that Sarfaraz is sidelined due to a quadriceps injury and is currently recovering at the Centre of Excellence (CoE).

Interestingly, it was reported on Wednesday (September 24) that the middle-order batter is likely to regain full fitness by September 29 and could get picked in India’s Test squad. But as it turns out, the 27-year-old is yet to recover and might take more time.

Sarfaraz Khan not picked in India A squad for Irani Trophy

Moreover, Sarfaraz Khan has not been picked in the India A squad for the Irani Trophy either. This makes it clear that it will take more time for him to recover from the injury. At the same time, Sarfaraz will now directly get an opportunity to play for Mumbai in the upcoming Ranji Trophy in red-ball cricket.

For the unversed, Sarfaraz last played for India in Tests in November 2024 in the series against New Zealand, which the team lost 0-3. In six matches so far, he has scored 371 runs at an average of 37.1 with a century and three fifties to his name.

India Test squad for West Indies series: Shubman Gill (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, N Jagadeeshan, Sai Sudharasan