'Tell him that his performance is being watched otherwise...' - Sunil Gavaskar lashes out at selection committee following Sarfaraz Khan's absence from India squad for West Indies tour

The squad for the West Indies tour which is set to be India’s next assignment post the trauma of World Test Championship Final defeat, has now been released by the Indian cricket governing board. The matches are slated to take place on Caribbean soil in July and feature both Test and ODI matches.

There were slight changes in the squad which was revealed as the Test squad saw Cheteshwar Pujara drop from the longest form of the game following in poor form with bat in recent times. Also, the One-day international squad saw Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad being selected in the squad.

Notably in the longest format. Ajinkya Rahane, the veteran India batter who had just recently returned to the team for the World Test Championship final was elected vice-captain. However, Sarfaraz Khan, who has been among the leading run scorers on the local circuit for the past three years, was one of the anticipated names who was absent from the roster.

Cricketing experts and fans have both expressed their disapproval at the selection panel's decision to leave Sarfaraz out of the squad, with some even saying that it demonstrates their lack of clarity. The former India opener, Sunil Gavaskar, stated in a recent interview on India Today that a player like Sarfaraz, who has been scoring a ton of runs over the past three seasons, deserves a chance to play for the Indian side.

Gavaskar also questioned the need to tell Sarfaraz what further he needs to do to earn a spot in the Indian Test team if a guy like him, who has been scoring runs at an average of over 100, isn't getting a chance.

"Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring runs at an average above 100 in the last 3 seasons, what else does he have to do to get selected? Even if his place is not in the 11, he can be taken into the team - tell him that his performance is being watched otherwise stop playing Ranji, say that it has no meaning,” the veteran Indian batter said India Today.

India will be playing 2 Test matches followed by 3 One day Internationals and 5 T20 Internationals on the tour.