When Sarfaraz Khan bats for India A against New Zealand A in the first unofficial Test starting on Thursday, he will be looking to translate his incredible domestic results into massive runs at the international level.
The New Zealand A team would compete with the home team because it has at least six players who have at some point in the past played for the senior national team. The majority of the Indian team’s players participated in an A series in South Africa during the end of last year and are looking to solidify their positions on the Test team. But because Sarfaraz is playing at the same place where he made a hundred in the Ranji Trophy final a few months earlier, nobody would gain the kind of momentum that he or she is expected to.
While the selected players are either well-known domestic performers or someone like Kuldeep Yadav, who would hope to rediscover his mojo after missing the last red ball domestic season. But in the case of the bulky Mumbaikar, the interest would be even greater because, following a season in which he scored nearly 1000 runs in the Ranji Trophy, he is figuratively knocking on the doors of the senior national squad.
India’s following Test match is scheduled for December in Bangladesh, following the T20 World Cup in Australia. Sarfaraz is a strong candidate to join the flight to Dhaka if there is at least one open middle order spot in that squad, if not both.