Sarfaraz Khan hits back at selectors with the third century in Ranji Trophy 2022-23

Despite being left out of India’s 17-man squad for the first two Tests of the four-match series against Australia, Sarfaraz Khan remains unstoppable. The right-handed hitter, who has been a reliable run-scorer on the domestic circuit in recent years, scored a century for Mumbai against Delhi in the present Ranji Trophy Group B game at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The top hitter blasted 125 from 155 balls with 16 fours and four sixes, helping Mumbai record 293 runs before being bundled out. Fans on social media praised Sarfaraz Khan for his century, but others chastised the selection committee for leaving him out of the first two matches.

Sarfaraz Khan has been a standout in the current Raji Trophy season, but he was similarly impressive in the previous one. Sarfaraz scored 982 runs at an average of 122.75 in the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy, including four centuries and two half-centuries. His maximum possible score was 275. Meanwhile, he has 431 runs at an average of 107.75 and a strike rate of 70.54 in the current edition, with two centuries and one half-century. Sarfaraz owns the second-highest batting average (minimum 50 innings) in first-class cricket after the renowned Australian player Don Bradman. Sarfaraz has scored 3380 runs at an average of 80.46 in 36 first-class matches for Mumbai. Bradman, who possesses a Test batting average of 99.94, has a domestic red-ball batting average of 95.14. Sarfaraz has played 22 Ranji Trophy innings since 2019, scoring 2289 runs at an astounding average of 134.64, including nine hundreds and five half-centuries.

Read more: SA20: Squads and broadcasting details for the inaugural season

Twitter reactions