Mumbai batsman Sarfaraz Khan, despite his impressive performance in domestic cricket over the past three years, has been overlooked by the selectors for the upcoming Test series in the West Indies. This omission has sparked a heated debate regarding the credibility of domestic cricket. In an attempt to clarify their decision, the selection committee has stated that Sarfaraz's exclusion is primarily due to concerns regarding his fitness and behavior, rather than his performance on the field. WV Raman, the former coach of the Indian women's team, has expressed his thoughts on this contentious issue.
Cricket not the only criteria
According to Raman, the selectors are not intentionally seeking flaws in Sarfaraz, emphasising that they are not infallible beings. He further revealed that it is customary for a selection committee to thoroughly discuss a cricketer's conduct both on and off the field.
"There were some views expressed supposedly by the selection committee with regards to his (Sarfaraz's) non-inclusion. One of them seems to be that he needs to improve his ability to play against fast bowling and the other thing seems to be that he needs to improve on his fitness and fielding as well. Somebody can turn around and ask me, what is it that they are trying to convey and do they think they are gods? No, they are not gods. They are not trying to really find faults with Sarfaraz Khan," Raman said in a video uploaded on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel.
"What happens generally is that in a selection committee meeting, they not only see the numbers that a cricketer has put up, they also try and discuss about the various things that they might have detected in a cricketer's framework of technique or his attitude, or the perceived ability of a cricketer with regard to international cricket. That's exactly what this committee has done. They feel that Sarfaraz Khan may perhaps not be up to it when it comes to facing international fast bowlers. These kinds of judgemental calls are the norm in selection committee meetings. This has been done before, this committee has done it and it will also be done in the future," he signed off.
