Congress leader Shama Mohamed on Wednesday sparked fresh controversy by drawing a religious angle to the exclusion of cricketer Sarfaraz Khan from both the India and India A squads which were recently announced by the<a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/bcci-get-sri-lanka-afghanistan-support-in-asia-cup-2025-trophy-fiasco-but-mohsin-naqvi-stands-firm-23599705" target="_blank" rel="none noopener"> Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).</a>

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The <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-congress-leader-bhai-jagtap-says-party-to-go-solo-in-bmc-elections-23599776" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Congress </a>leader&rsquo;s comments come a day after the country&rsquo;s cricketing body unveiled the India A squads for two four-day matches against South Africa A. The tournament will be held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The first match will be held from October 30 to November 2, while the second is scheduled for November 6 to 9. Despite his consistent domestic record, Sarfaraz Khan was once again left out of both squads, prompting debates among cricket fans and analysts alike.
Twenty-seven-year-old Sarfaraz Khan has had an impressive domestic career, having made his <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ind-vs-aus-1st-odi-virat-kohli-opens-up-on-his-break-after-retiring-from-test-cricket-23599386" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Test </a>debut for India under Rohit Sharma against England in February 2024. Since then, he has accumulated 371 runs in six Tests at an average of 37.10 and a strike rate of 74.94. Sarfaraz has also scored one century and three fifties in 11 innings, with a highest score is 150. He last played for India against New Zealand in November 2023.
In first-class cricket, Sarfaraz has been dominant, averaging 65.19 in 56 matches, with 2,467 runs, 16 centuries, and 15 fifties, and a strike rate of 70.99. Despite these stellar performances, his chances of making it to the Indian Test team appear slim, especially after being overlooked for the Australia tour, despite an average of 117.47 in first-class cricket over the last five years.
The India A squad for the first four-day match includes Rishabh Pant (captain and wicketkeeper), Ayush Mhatre, N Jagadeesan (wicketkeeper), Sai Sudharsan (vice-captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Anshul Kamboj, Yash Thakur, Ayush Badoni, Saransh Jain.
The squad for the second four-day match features Rishabh Pant (captain and wicketkeeper), <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/photo/ind-vs-wi-2nd-test-kl-rahul-ravindra-jadeja-set-to-complete-4000-runs-in-test-cricket-107715" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">KL Rahul,</a> Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Sai Sudharsan (vice-captain), Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Akash Deep.
(With ANI inputs)

Congress leader Shama Mohamed on Wednesday sparked fresh controversy by drawing a religious angle to the exclusion of cricketer Sarfaraz Khan from the team

Congress leader Shama Mohamed draws religious angle to cricketer Sarfaraz Khan’s exclusion from Indian team, sparks controversy

LJP leader Chirag Paswan slams Tejashwi Yadav, says Mahagathbandhan has completely been destroyed

The Congress leader’s comments come a day after the country’s cricketing body unveiled the India A squads for two four-day matches against South Africa A. The tournament will be held at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru

Congress' Shama Mohamed draws religious angle to Sarfaraz Khan's exclusion

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