Ajit Agarkar, the BCCI’s Chairman of Selectors for the Men’s cricket team, announced India’s 18-member squad for the marquee tour to England, starting June 20. The first Test squad post the Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma-Ravichandran Ashwin era has a strange appeal. It is filled with a new captain, a new vice-captain, new faces, one or two axings, and the return of a forgotten face.
Karun Nair’s return to the squad after 7 years and Sarfaraz Khan’s axing from the squad have become a major talking point.
Familiar journey
Karun Nair’s and Sarfaraz Khan’s Test career numbers are eerily similar.
Karun Nair has 374 runs from 6 matches, whereas Sarfaraz Khan has 371 runs from 6 matches.
They also have one more similarity; neither of them got a game in a five-match away series.
Karun Nair warmed the bench in all five Tests in India’s tour of England in 2018. He was dropped for the next home series against the West Indies in October 2018. Sarfaraz Khan warmed the bench in all five Tests in India’s tour of Australia in 2024-25. He too has been dropped for India’s next assignment, a massive tour to England.
Why Karun, why not Sarfaraz?
Ajit Agarkar, BCCI’s chairman of selectors, has a solid explanation.
“Yeah, I mean, sometimes you just have to make those decisions. Sarfaraz did play the three Test matches in India (vs. New Zealand). I know he got a hundred in the first Test. Missed out in Australia. Sometimes, those are the decisions the team management takes. Whether it’s fair on somebody or unfair on someone, those are the decisions you make in the best interest of the team. At the moment we felt that Karun has obviously put heaps of runs over the last couple of seasons. He has played a little bit of Test cricket early in his career. He has played a bit of county cricket,” the former Indian pacer said.
Karun Nair’s stellar domestic form
Karun Nair has been in sensational form in the last 12 months. He scored 487 runs at an average of 48.7 in 7 matches for Northamptonshire in the 2024 county championship. He even cracked an unbeaten double century against Glamorgan in April 2024.
Karun carried the fine form to Vidarbha and helped them win the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 in February. He scored 863 runs in 9 matches, including 4 centuries and 2 fifties. His 86 and 135 in the final against Kerala helped Vidarbha to clinch their third Ranji Trophy title.
Sarfaraz Khan’s domestic form
Sarfaraz Khan’s career was peaking last October. He returned to the Indian squad after smashing 222* against the Rest of India in the Irani Cup match. He cracked a scintillating 150 in a losing cause against New Zealand in Bengaluru. His scores in the next four innings were 11, 9, 0, and 1.
The selectors dropped Sarfaraz for the opening Test in Perth against Australia, despite missing Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill due to different reasons. He didn’t get a single game, just like Karun Nair in the 2018 tour to England.
Sarfaraz missed the 2nd half of the Ranji Trophy season due to a rib injury. In fact, he is yet to play a first-class game in 2025.
Sarfaraz Khan even lost 10 kilograms due to an intense fitness regime. Getting dropped from the senior squad will be a tough pill to swallow for Sarfaraz. He does have a lifeline, though. He has been selected for the India A squad’s tour to England, preceding the Test series. If he can make a solid case for himself in those games, Sarfaraz may return to the squad and need not have to wait like Karun Nair.
Karun wouldn’t want one more similarity between him and Sarfaraz Khan to happen. Returning to the Test squad after a 7-year gap. Let’s hope not.
India tour of England, 2025
The selectors have announced a 18-member squad with a new skipper at the helm. 25-year-old Shubman Gill has been appointed as the captain with 27-year-old Rishabh Pant as his deputy.
India’s squad:
Batters: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (WK)
Pace bowling all-rounders: Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur
Spin bowling all-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar
Specialist spinner: Kuldeep Yadav
Pacers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh
Series schedule:
First Test: Leeds, June 20 – 24
Second Test: Birmingham, July 2 – 6
Third Test: Lord’s (London), July 10 – 14
Fourth Test: Manchester, July 23 – 27
Fifth Test: The Oval (London), July 31 – August 4
