Sunil Gavaskar slams selectors for dropping Cheteshwar Pujara and ignoring Sarfaraz Khan

Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at the national selectors for dropping Sarfaraz Khan and shunning Pujara ahead of the West Indies test next month. Gavaskar questioned the logic behind having the Ranji Trophy if performance is based on players IPL record

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has lashed out at the national selectors for making Cheteshwar Pujara the "scapegoat" and ignoring prolific domestic scorer Sarfaraz Khan for the two tests in the West Indies next month.

Referring to Khan's non-selection, Gavaskar questioned the logic behind having the Ranji Trophy if performance in the country's premier domestic tournament is not looked into while picking the Indian red-ball teams instead of taking the players IPL (Indian Premier League) record.

"Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons. What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? he might not be in the playing XI, but you pick him in the team," Gavskar said of the Mumbai batter to Sports Today.

"Tell him that his performances are being recognised. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it's of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red-ball game as well." With the help of three centuries, Khan amassed 556 runs in six games at an average of 92.66 in the 2022–23 Ranji Trophy.

The 25-year-old right-handed batter had scored 982 runs at an average of 122.75 in the 2021–22 Ranji season, including four hundreds.

In all, Khan has scored 3,505 runs in 37 first-class matches at an average of 79.65, including 13 centuries.

As far as Pujara is concerned, his absence from the Indian Test team for the Windies tour has been one of the talking points.