Mohammad Kaif hailed India’s decision to recall Sarfaraz Khan to the Indian cricket team for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. The former Indian cricketer questioned the decision to drop him in the first place and welcomed the decision to include him in the squad.

For those unversed, Sarfaraz was named as Sai Sudharsan’s injury replacement by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee. The middle-order batter linked up with the squad in Sri Lanka on Monday (August 10) and attended the team training session.

Kaif pointed out that Sarfaraz was not dropped for performance reasons and stated that the reason behind his exit was never mentioned. The 2002 NatWest final victory hero saluted the person who recommended Sarfaraz’s name and claimed he will be an important player in the spin-friendly conditions of Sri Lanka.

“What was the reason for that? Why was he not able to play continuously? Why was he dropped? Was there a reason for that? I would like to get into that. No, there was no reason. Without telling anyone, he was dropped. All these things, the rumors—there were many questions. Why is Sarfaraz Khan not being named? Tell me the reason, why is he not playing? No reason was given. His name was not even mentioned in India A. All these things happened in between. Right. But, I feel that whoever convinced him, whoever it be, be it the BCCI, be it the selectors, be it the coaches, or be it the captains, whoever said that Sarfaraz Khan should come back to Sri Lanka, that he can get a spin-friendly pitch, that he plays spin well, and that he can contribute to India winning

“Whoever spoke on this line, I salute them. First of all, I salute them; whatever happened in the past, let it go. Let the cricket of India not suffer. Let there be such people on the team of India; they should always win, be aggressive, and move forward in a dominant manner. So, whoever took this decision, first of all, I am very thankful to him. Because someone must have named him,” said Kaif in a video on his YouTube channel.

“There was a reason he was not allowed to play. Performance was not the reason. There was no reason. That his runs were not getting made, that the bat was not working. He made runs against New Zealand. He came across the field. He was playing well. He was in form. When he scored against England, he had a good start.

“Whatever happened in between, he was removed. But now, whoever said that he should come back, I feel that he is thinking for India. India is thinking for cricket. We have to win. We will need good players. We will need good players. We will need good players who play well. So, first of all, whoever has named him on the table, I congratulate him a lot. And I hope that Sarfaraz Khan will go there and play well,” Kaif added.

The ex-Indian batter claimed that Sarfaraz could find a place in the playing XI instead of Dhruv Jurel at number six, with Devdutt Padikkal set to bat at number three. However, he pointed out the team does not directly include players in the playing XI who were not part of the squad earlier, while mentioning Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s example during the tour of Ireland and England.

Sarfaraz last played for India against New Zealand in November 2024 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. He was part of the travelling side for the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which followed, but did not play a single game. Since then, he has been removed from the squad entirely.

So far, he has played six Test matches in his career and scored 371 runs with one century and three half-centuries at an average of 37.10.

The first Test of the India-Sri Lanka series will take place from Saturday (15th August in Galle) before the second game in Colombo (SSC Stadium) from 23rd August.

Disclaimer: This article summarizes a report by Mohammad Kaif. While Times Now has verified the public data presented, the interpretations of ‘intent’ remain those of the creator.