Sarfaraz Khan responds with another century after being ignored for the Australia series

Days after being snubbed from the Test squad against Australia, Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan has responded royally with his bat. The right-hand batter on Tuesday slammed his third century of the Ranji trophy season against Delhi at a challenging Arjun Jaitley Stadium pitch.

Walking in at no. 5 with the scoreboard reading 62/3, Khan played the conditions well by forging a partnership with Shams Mulani. After getting his eyes in, the 25-year-old showed his vast array of shots and made the Delhi bowlers toil hard.

The dasher reached the three-figure mark in 135 deliveries and was dismissed on 125 in the last session of the day.

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After Sarfaraz reached his century, the subsequent emotional celebration suggested that it was his way of sending a message to the selectors. Meanwhile, coach and former Mumbai player Amol Mazumdar doffed his hat in appreciation from the dressing room.

Notably, 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.

BCCI and its selection committee have been criticised in recent times for being far too clandestine in team selections. No press conferences areorganised to convey the thought process behind the selection and omissions.

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

Khan in an interview remarked that he could not sleep after not being included in the Testsquad.

"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.

"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.”

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

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

(With inputs from agencies)

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