'I wasn’t able to sleep': Sarfaraz Khan on missing the India call-up for the Australia series

Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan has opened up for the first time after not being selected for the first two Test matches of the upcoming Border Gavaskar trophy. The right-hand dasher said he wasn't able to sleep after receiving the news of his snub.

"I came from Assam to Delhi the day after the selection and wasn’t able to sleep the whole night. I kept asking why am I not there," said Khan in an interview with The Indian Express.

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"But now after speaking to my father, I’m back to normal. I will never give up practice, I will not go under depression. Don’t worry, I will keep trying.”

The in-form batter had all the reasons to be dejected. Having scored a truckload of runs in the domestic circuit for the last couple of years, many had anticipated that Khan's selection in the Test team was only a matter of time.

“I was down completely. It’s natural for anyone, especially once you have scored so many runs. I’m also human, not a machine. I too have emotions. I spoke to my father and he came to Delhi. I just had a practice session in Delhi with him."

“Everywhere I go, I hear murmurs that he will play for India soon. On social media, I have thousands of messages talking about my exclusion.Sab bolte hain tera time aayega(everyone says your time will come)."

Read more: India announce squad for Border-Gavaskar trophy; SKY makes the cut

Since 2019, Khan, playing for Mumbai has scored 2,289 runs in 22 innings with a staggering average of 134.64 with nine hundreds, five fifties, two double hundreds, and a triple century.

Khan's career average of 80.47 is only second to the great Donald Bradman who retired with an average of 99.9.

The Mumbai batter revealed that he met chief selector Chetan Sharma who had assured him that his time will come.

"Recently, I met Chetan Sharma sir (chief selector) while we were checking in at the hotel in Mumbai. He asked me not to feel disheartened, and that my time will come. Good things take time to happen. You're very close (to an India berth). You'll get your chance. So, when I played another important knock, I had expectations. But it's alright."

The All-India Senior Selection Committee last Friday announced a 17-member squad for the first two Test matches. Instead of Sarfaraz, his state mate Suryakumar Yadav was picked, based on his pristine touch in the limited overs format, particularly T20Is.

Read more:Ian Bishop lauds Sarfaraz Khan as Indian batter averages 82 in FC cricket, second only to Sir Don Bradman

India squad for the first two Tests:

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad. Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav

(With inputs from agencies)

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