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Since Sarfaraz Khan was not picked for India A’s two four-day matches against South Africa A, reactions have been quite strong. Social media erupted over the exclusion of the 28-year-old Khan, who has recently shed a lot of weight and scored heavily in India’s domestic cricket in recent years, as people asked what more he could do to secure a call-up. Even Ravichandran Ashwin was stunned: “I can’t find any logic behind Sarfaraz’s non-selection in the India A side. I feel very, very sad for him. If I were a selector, what would I call and tell Sarfaraz? He has reduced weight, he has scored runs too, he even hit a century against New Zealand.”

However, Irfan Pathan believes that the selectors have a plan. “Selectors and the coach (management) will always have a plan. Sometimes it might look wrong in the fans’ eyes, but please don’t twist things or create narratives that aren’t even close to the truth,” he wrote on X.

Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed on Wednesday stoked controversy when she asked whether Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan was not selected in the India A cricket squad “because of his surname.” She also appeared to take a jibe at the Indian team’s coach Gautam Gambhir, saying “we know” where he stands on the matter.

The Congress leader’s remarks drew a sharp retort from the BJP, with the ruling party’s spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla asking her to keep her “dirty political communal agenda” out of cricket.

On Tuesday, when the national selection committee picked the Indian squad for the two first-class games against South Africa A, Khan’s name was missing from the two separate squads to be led by Rishabh Pant.

In a post on X, Congress leader Mohamed said, “Is Sarfaraz Khan not selected because of his surname! #justasking. We know where Gautam Gambhir stands on that matter.” Hitting back at her, Poonawalla said, “This lady & her party are sick. After calling Rohit Sharma fat – she and her party want to divide even our cricket team on communal lines? Desh ka partition karke mann nahi bhara kya? (Are they not satisfied even after partitioning the country?) In the same team, Mohammad Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed will play! Stop dividing India on communal lines, caste lines,” he said.

Mohamed had courted controversy in March by fat-shaming then Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma. She had to delete her social media post after the Congress reprimanded her. In her deleted post, Mohamed had said Sharma is “fat for a sportsman.”