'You wonder whether he's a Test potential kind of a player' - Sanjay Manjrekar on Sarfaraz Khan's India call-up chances

Cricketer-turned-cricket pundit Sanjay Manjrekar has predicted that promising batter Sarfaraz Khan has indeed come close to an India call-up after outstanding performances in the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, where he played an instrumental role in Mumbai reaching the finals.

Sarfaraz continued his splendid form in this edition by amassing over 900 runs. Mumbai might not be able to beat Madhya Pradesh in the title clash as they find themselves in a precarious situation, but the 24-year-old’s individual performances have ensured that he is a strong contender for the Indian Test squad.

He gets big scores and it comes very quickly as well at a great strike rate: Sanjay Manjrekar

“Because of the way he bats, you sort of wonder whether he’s a Test potential kind of a player. But the amount of runs he’s got in the last two seasons – and he doesn’t get 103, 104, he gets big scores and it comes very quickly as well at a great strike rate,” Manjrekar was quoted by NDTV.

“So even if you don’t have a spot readily available – you want to try out the incumbents first, because Shreyas Iyer has grabbed the opportunity as a Test batter by getting runs – there is absolutely no harm in getting Sarfaraz Khan in closer to the Indian Test squad,” he added.

“He is very deserving of coming close to a Test squad selection even if not in the playing XI,” Manjrekar concluded.

Sarfaraz Khan was the lone centurion for Mumbai in the first innings of the final as he went on to score 134. He followed it up with a valiant 48-ball 45 in the second innings as the 41-time Ranji Trophy champions are fighting hard to cope against a far superior MP side.

Meanwhile, there were also reports circulating that Sarfaraz might be in the scheme of things for the Indian Test squad in the away series against Bangladesh in November this year.