"This non-selection is not about performance” - Sanjay Manjrekar blasts management for dropping Sarfaraz Khan from ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Former Indian opener Sanjay Manjrekar questioned India's squad selection, especially the omission of Sarfaraz Khan, for the upcoming five-Test series in England, starting June 20.

Despite the recent retirement of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli from Tests, India picked newcomers like Sai Sudharsan and Abhimanyu Easwaran while recalling Karun Nair. Sarfaraz did not play a single Test in India's most recent red-ball series in Australia and has subsequently been dropped from the 18-member roster for the England tour.

Talking about the selection in his column for Hindustan Times, Manjrekar said:

"Take the example of Sarfraz Khan. Three fifties and a 150 at home in four Tests and failures in only four innings after that and Sarfaraz does not get a single game in Australia. So, this non-selection is not about performance, it’s about someone important in the leadership group thinking Sarfaraz will not get runs in England and Australia, and Karun Nair will. For the England tour too, he has been left out despite his performances in recent times outweighing Karun Nair’s completely."

He continued:

"Under Gambhir’s stewardship and with Rohit not there anymore, I see a tendency in this management to pre-empt performances of individuals while making selections. As in, the dominating thought here is to apply their own view of the likely success and failure of players depending on conditions and opposition."

India appointed Shubman Gill as their new Test captain, with his stint starting with the five Tests in England.

India’s squad for the England series

Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav

How has Sarfaraz Khan performed in Tests?

Sarfaraz Khan enjoyed an excellent start to his Test career, with half-centuries in each innings of his debut Test against England in Rajkot. The 27-year-old scored another half-century in a Test later in the series finale at Dharamsala.

The right-hander moved from strength to strength, scoring his maiden Test century in the next outing against New Zealand in Bengaluru. However, his next four innings yielded only 21 runs at an average of 5.25, with a highest score of 11.

It led to his losing a place in the XI in Australia, where India suffered a 1-3 series defeat. His selection initially hinged on stellar domestic performances, where he averaged 65.61 in 54 first-class games.