‘Sarfaraz Khan assam se hai kya?’ – Fans lash out at Suresh Raina as he backs Suryakumar Yadav to come good in Tests since he’s from Mumbai
Suryakumar Yadav has taken T20I cricket by storm with his breathtaking strokeplay since his debut in 2021. The star batter has quickly risen through the ranks to become the world’s no one batter in the format.
The 32-year-old was recently included in the Test team for the first two Tests of the upcoming series against Australia. While many have questioned his selection, former Indian batter Suresh Raina feels he will fare good in the longest format of the game.
Suresh Raina said, “Suryakumar Yadav is a Mumbai player, and he knows how to play red-ball cricket. He will score multiple 100s and then 200s in Tests”.
Australia will be touring India for a four-match Test series which is played for the ‘Border Gavaskar Trophy’. The opening Test will be played in Nagpur on February 9. The next three Tests will be played in New Delhi (February 17-21), Dharamsala (March 1-5) and Ahmedabad (March 9-13).
While Suryakumar Yadav was selected, another Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan failed to find a place in the XI. Sarfaraz has been in imperious form in Ranji Trophy since 2019 as he’s averaging over 100 with the bat.
In the last two Ranji Trophy seasons, he has amassed 1,910 runs in just 12 games, averaging 136.42. He scored seven centuries in 18 innings, and also made 11 fifties.
Since 2019, the Mumbai batter has scored 2,466 runs in 27 innings at an average of 123.30 with 10 hundreds out of which there are two double-hundreds and one triple ton. He also has five half-centuries to his name.
I was down completely: Sarfaraz Khan
In the ongoing season, he has amassed 556 runs to his name in nine innings at an average of 92.66 with three hundreds and one fifty to his name. Several fans questioned selectors for picking Suryakumar Yadav over Sarfaraz Khan.
Following his team India snub, the 25-year-old expressed his frustration in an interview with IndianExpress. “I was down completely. It’s natural for anyone, especially once you have scored so many runs. I’m also human, not a machine. I too have emotions. I spoke to my father and he came to Delhi. I just had a practice session in Delhi with him. I have been getting messages and hearing that I should have been there. My father came and said our job is to score runs and he feels a day will come when I will play for India. So we need to keep that belief and let destiny decide the rest,” Sarfaraz said
Meanwhile, Twitter was also abuzz with reactions on Suresh Raina’s statement on Suryakumar Yadav’s selection. Here are some of the Tweets:
He will as much big player as raina is of test cricket
— Raj Thakur (@Thakurrr0001) January 29, 2023
So is sarfaraz khan
— R (@Thunder3108) January 29, 2023
Suresh raina ab dhoni bhakti se thak gya hai to ab koi nya dhund rha bhakti ke liye,,,inke hisab se sky ke first class me runs hai to Hume iyer ko ignore karna chhaiye jisne international me score Kiya hai,,best player of spin bowling at present,but he chose to ass Lick surya👍
— R (@RaghavD09989310) January 29, 2023
Whats the need of making everyone into all format player.. Let him be a format specialist.
Anyway there is no place for him in the eleven as Shreyas cemented his place for now.— Apple_Jack 🍎 (@Being_a_medico) January 29, 2023
https://twitter.com/vishal_jat01/status/1619600619727364096?s=20&t=QTKxg6KCU8V5KIcphfB0fw
Sarfaraz konsa assam ka hai to
— tush (@genwiine) January 29, 2023
Guys from other parts of the nation doesn't know how to hold the bat 🤐https://t.co/ftHMVEHQDv
— Arima (@Dracarys28) January 29, 2023
https://twitter.com/Crickethumour_/status/1619608463235231746?s=20&t=QTKxg6KCU8V5KIcphfB0fw
Logic ?
— #SackFAF (@OGVK18) January 29, 2023
Mumbai quota
— Viraj Dobriyal (@Giyu_Rengoku318) January 29, 2023
