Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh asked Sarfaraz Khan to follow in the footsteps of Karun Nair after the latter was axed in national squad against England that will begin in 20 June. Sarfaraz, which was dropped on the side, has stayed in top notch form; in the first fake Test against the England Lions, he scored 92. After the revelation Harbhajan Singh admitted that he was surprised that the name of Sarfaraz was not on the team sheet. However, he encouraged the 27-year old to be like Karun Nair who got back in the national team seven years down the line after his performances at the domestic level had been good.
Harbhajan Singh’s Statement
“It’s very unfortunate… I was a bit shocked not seeing his name in the squad. I’m sure he will come back strong. He has got that will to make a comebackAll I can say is, don’t be disheartened, you will get your due, if not today, then tomorrow.Look at Karun Nair. He scored 300 runs against England and then never got too many opportunities. Now he is back in England with the team,” Harbhajan told PTI.
Why Sarfaraz Khan Can Snub Karun Nair
Despite the nearly identical experience in Test matches, Sarfaraz khan is arguably worth being preferred to Karun Nair. The fact that Nair has one unbeaten score of 303 contributes significantly to his superior mark of 62.33, as the innings is his only century and the highlight of his rather brief career. In comparison, Sarfaraz has been a more consistent performer, bagging 371 runs at an impressive strike rate of 74.94 in 11 innings with one hundred and three fifties to his name. His ability to adapt and to perform well in diverse environments implies that he is far more mature than his years. With him scoring more regularly than Nair, with his better recent form, Sarfaraz is a plausible choice of more reliable middle order utility than one shot wunderkind Nair.
