Ignored Sarfaraz to not move up the batting order

Gearing up for a fresh Ranji season with an eye on bigger personal honours is what Sarfaraz Khan has done a lot of. Being constantly on the waiting list is also something he's learned to deal with. It may have led to frustration, but it never broke him. To lose favour after making it to the elite level can be deflating though and will test the resilience of the middle-order batter.

- Rasesh Mandani

As Sarfaraz took catches during fielding practice a day before Mumbai's second round of Ranji Trophy against Chhattisgarh at the Bandra Kurla Complex, his state opener Ayush Mhatre, 18, left the squad to gear up for India A action against South Africa A in Bengaluru. Sarfaraz can't make it to India A, let alone earn a Test recall. At 28, age does not count against him but what does, has been left to conjecture.

After he broke down the selection door with a rich run of scores in domestic, Sarfaraz's first stint in India whites, last year, was a mixed bag. While he showed his full range during his Bengaluru Test hundred against New Zealand, a sequence of poor scores-0, 11, 9, 0, 1-followed on turning pitches.