Sarfaraz Khan’s hopes for a Test comeback may have been dashed. Looking to make a mark in the Duleep Trophy and vie for a spot in the middle order in the India vs West Indies Test series, Sarfaraz has been sidelined for around 3 weeks.
The 27-year-old was in cracking form, scoring back-to-back hundreds for Mumbai in the Buchi Babu Tournament. Having last played for India in November last year, Sarfaraz was looking to return back into the Test side. He had been working on his fitness and had reduced his weight by a whopping 17 kg.
Injury ruins Sarfaraz Khan’s Test comeback hope
Selected for the West Zone, he was all set to play against the Central Zone at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in the second semifinal from September 4 onwards. But as luck would have it, Sarfaraz can’t show the selectors what he’s got.
While batting against Haryana in the Buchi Babu Tournament, Sarfaraz sustained a quadriceps injury. This means he’ll be present at the CoE, but not for the Duleep Trophy match, but to rehabilitate.
“Sarfaraz is suffering from a quadriceps injury, which he picked up while scoring a century against Haryana in the Buchi Babu event five days ago. He’s set to be out for almost three weeks and is currently rehabilitating at the CoE,” a source told the Times of India.
West Zone selectors are likely to announce Baroda’s Shivalik Sharma as Sarfaraz’s replacement. The batter was included in the reserves and will likely find a spot, as the prolific Mumbai batter has to pull out.
West Zone squad for Duleep Trophy
Shardul Thakur (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan (Shivalik Sharma), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harvik Desai (wk), Jaymeet Patel, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Tushar Deshpande, Arzan Nagwaswala, Aarya Desai, Saurabh Nawale (wk), Manan Hingrajia.
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