Go to fashion shows if you want to select only slim and trim guys, Sunil Gavaskar lashes out at selectors
Sunil Gavaskar has backed Sarfaraz Khan after his exclusion from the Border Gavaskar Trophy, saying cricketers should be selected for their form and not based on their shape and size. He further added that the yo-yo test can’t be the only criterion and that the youngster is fit enough for the game.
Sarfaraz Khan has been one of the emerging youngsters on the domestic circuit with some incredible knocks in first-class cricket. The youngster has played 37 first-class matches so far and has scored at brilliant average of 79.65. Sarfaraz racked up 2,441 runs in the last three seasons, playing a key role for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy while batting in the lower middle order.
The debate around his selection in the national squad made headlines once again when he was snubbed by the selectors for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy even after putting in hard yards in domestic cricket. However, it was said that his omission from the squad was due to his weight and fitness concerns. Sunil Gavaskar has backed the youngster saying cricketers, should be selected on basis of their form and not based on their shape and size.
“That’s not the way cricket goes. You have cricketers in all shapes and sizes. Don’t go by the size, go by the scores or wickets. He is not staying off the field when he scores a hundred. He is back on the field again. So, all that tells you is that the man is fit,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“How can you score runs? I think at the end of the day if you are unfit, you aren’t gonna score hundreds. Cricket fitness is the most important thing. Yo-Yo Test can’t be the only criterion. You got to make sure that the man is cricket fit as well. If the person, whoever it is, is cricket fit, then I don’t think it should be any matter.”
The 25-year-old has scored 556 runs in nine innings in the ongoing season at an average of 92.66, including three centuries and a half-century. In their latest game against Delhi, he staged a recovery for the team from a tough phase but they still lost the game by eight wickets. Gavaskar further lashed out at the selectors saying they can go to fashion shows to select only slim and trim guys.
“If you are looking for only slim and trim guys, then might as well go to a fashion show and find some other models and give a bat and ball in their hands and then improve them,” he remarked.
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