NEW DELHI: Sarfaraz Khan's omission from the Indian team has been linked to fitness and disciplinary issues but sources in Mumbai cricket insisted that there was no truth in the claims.
While it is perceived in the BCCI circle that Sarfaraz needs to work on his fitness and also be a bit more disciplined both on and off the field, people associated with Mumbai cricket defended the middle-order batter.
Sarfaraz's gesture of pointing finger towards the dressing room after scoring a crucial hundred against Delhi in the previous season was not appreciated. It was perceived as a dig at one of the selectors watching the match.
"Sarfaraz's celebration during a Ranji match in Delhi was meant for his teammates and coach Amol Mujumdar, who had doffed his hat. The selector present was Salil Ankola and not Chetan Sharma. Sarfaraz took the team out of a pressure situation and the celebration was one of relief," a source close to the cricketer told PTI on Monday.
"Is it even wrong to be exalted in your celebration and that too when you are pointing towards your own dressing room," the source said.
There was also an incident where apparently MP coach Chandrakant Pandit was not happy with his attitude but the source said that Pandit always has been affectionate towards him.
"Chandu sir treats him like a son. He has always had good things to say about him and knows him since he was 14 years old. He would never be angry with Sarfaraz," the source said.
People close to Sarfaraz do want to know why he has been ignored in the Indian team despite scoring heavily.
The current Indian team has a fitness criteria of 16.5 and he has cleared it and as far as cricketing fitness goes, he has at times batted for two days and fielded for another two days.