Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has expressed his concerns over how home-grown players like Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran are treated by the selectors in Australia. Sanjay Manjrekar has stated that Sarfaraz Khan should not be “dumped” in favor of KL Rahul in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The Men in Blue were beaten 3-1 by Australia in the recently concluded five-match Test series. Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Eswaran did not get opportunities in Australia. However, the team management has played youngsters like Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Gurel and Harshit Rana.
This is not a good way to look at things – Sanjay Manjrekar
Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out that people were prematurely ruling out Iswaran based on his performance in a warm-up match, which he felt was an unfair approach. Manjrekar said selectors should be more patient and attentive before making such judgements.
“When we had that conversation before the first Test, I said it shouldn't be a straightforward decision taken by Sarfraz Khan and put in by KL Rahul. I think there were a lot of pre-emptions, a lot of people were playing God. With Abhimanyu Easwaran and watching him in a match Warming up and thinking he's not going to run, I think that's not a good way to look at things because cricket surprises you, Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo.
Sarfaraz Khan has impressed with his performances in domestic cricket, maintaining an exceptional first-class average of around 65. He has scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10 in six Tests. However, the Indian team management chose to go with Dhruv Gurriel over him for the first Test against Australia in Perth.
England will be a completely different challenge – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar pointed out that players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who might perform well on Indian pitches or in the Ranji Trophy, will face a much bigger challenge in England. Manjrekar stressed that if players like Kohli and Sharma are serious about performing abroad, they should be there.
“Even if Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma runs on the Indian pitches, Ranji Trophy, England will be a completely different challenge,” Manjrekar stated.
“So I want to see them, if they are serious about it, be there and then the selectors watch and see something happening, something has changed and there is a possibility we could see a different performance.”
Sarfaraz Khan was rewarded for his phenomenal record – Sanjay Manjrekar
Manjrekar expressed his disappointment over the way Sarfaraz Khan was treated despite his impressive domestic record. Manjrekar said it was unfair to exclude Sarfaraz, even if he was not suitable for certain pitches.
“Sarfaraz Khan was rewarded for his phenomenal record at first-class level. He got three scores of 50 and 150, but then came out terribly in the next Test. But then he was completely eliminated. I don't think that's quite right.” Manjrekar said.
“Even if you feel Sarfraz Khan might not succeed on that kind of pitch, what if he finds a way to run, with third man being his main scoring area? I mean, it was a revelation of how he can play against England.” So let's not try to play God too much, maybe watch a little bit, worry about how they line up at the highest level, but you have to reward people who have made runs.
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