Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim criticized Gautam Gambhir and the Indian team management for not giving opportunities to Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Karim feels that Sarfaraz and Easwaran have played enough domestic cricket and are ready to play Test cricket. Both players were in India’s squad for the Test series against Australia but were unable to play.
While Sarfaraz has already made his India debut, Easwaran is yet to play an international match. Easwaran was in line to make his Test debut ahead of the series when Rohit Sharma was absent for the first Test. However, the Indian team management chose KL Rahul as the opener to partner Yashasvi Jaiswal.
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Gautam Gambhir criticized by Saba Karim for not giving opportunities to Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran
While speaking to Sportstar, Saba Karim was disappointed with the way Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran were treated by the Gautam Gambhir-led Indian team management. He believes these players have done well in domestic and India A cricket, making them deserving of Test cricket.
“It is very discouraging because you are willing to face many challenges, but this is something that is beyond your control. That’s how I see it. I seriously believe that domestic cricketers should be rewarded,” Karim said.
“And here, we are not just talking about domestic cricketers, but players who have done well representing India A in the past, which means they have been tested several times, and that is why they have been taken as part of the test team,” he added.
Saba Karim criticizes the selectors
Saba Karim also criticized the selectors for choosing these players despite not considering them good enough to play. He called out the selectors for passing judgments without giving proper opportunity to these players.
“Logically it makes sense to give them a chance whenever the opportunity arises. I find it strange that these two cricketers who are part of the team were not even considered for selection. If that was the case, why did you choose them in the first place? argued the former India goalkeeper.
“If you weren’t sure their technical expertise was going to do well in Australia, then you should have gone with someone else. I firmly believe that without testing them in those conditions, how can we decide that they are not good enough for those conditions? asked.
While KL Rahul was chosen instead of Abhimanyu Easwaran due to his previous experience playing in Australia, India chose young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy instead of Sarfaraz Khan. Reddy emerged as one of the finds of the series as he shone with the bat and played some outstanding knocks under pressure.
“Tough on Abhimanyu and Sarfaraz” – Saba Karim
Saba Karim termed the selection decision as quite harsh on Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sarfaraz Khan. He reminded the selectors of Sarfaraz’s goal against New Zealand in Bengaluru, in which he scored a magnificent hundred under pressure.
“He has been tough on Abhimanyu (Easwaran) and Sarfaraz (Khan). Sarfaraz had two test matches before reaching a hundred in Bengaluru where the rest of the team struggled except Rishabh Pant,” Karim explained.
“And after that, he played two Test matches and in both matches there were rank changes. Forget Sarfaraz, none of the other Indian batsmen scored runs. So, keeping that in mind, I don’t understand this decision,” he added. .
Both Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran have scored many runs in first-class cricket and have also been regulars for India A. Sarfaraz has scored 4593 runs in 54 matches at an average of 65.61 with 16 hundreds and 14 fifties.
Sarfaraz Khan has played six Tests and scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10. On the other hand, Abhimanyu Easwaran has scored 7674 runs in 101 matches at an average of 48.87 with 27 hundreds and 29 fifties.