Explained: Why is Sarfaraz Khan not picked in the India A squad for the South Africa A series?

Indian middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan failed to make it to the India A squad for the upcoming two-match four-day series against South Africa A, scheduled to start on Thursday, October 30, in Bengaluru.

Notably, on Tuesday, October 21, the Indian national selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, announced India A squads for the first and second four-day games against South Africa A. The squad will be led by the comeback keeper-batter Rishabh Pant. Interestingly, Sarfaraz has been giving utmost importance to his fitness of late, becoming leaner, reducing a lot of weight. 

On the other hand, the only vacant slot in the Indian Test team at the moment seems to be No.3, which was most recently taken by Sai Sudharsan. However, all other slots in the Indian batting order look fixed, which could be the reason behind Sarfaraz’s non-selection in the squad.

"Sarfaraz should have a chat with the Mumbai team management and also with their senior-most player Ajinkya Rahane and, maybe, try out batting at No. 3 where he might have to play the new ball. If he keeps batting at No. 5 or 6, it won't help. India have more all-round options for those slots,” a former national selector privy to the developments told PTI.

"Pant, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Reddy... if all are fit and available, they will occupy the middle order, being multi-skilled players. When Pant is injured, it will be Dhruv Jurel batting at No. 5 or 6," he added.

India A squad for the 1st four-day match: Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Ayush Mhatre, N Jagdeesan (WK), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Anshul Kamboj, Yash Thakur, Ayush Badoni, Saransh Jain.

India A squad for the 2nd four-day match: Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.

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