Sanjay Manjrekar believes Sarfaraz Khan deserved a shot during India's tour of Australia. Although Sarfaraz was included in the squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he never really got a chance to play in any of the five Tests. Initially, it seemed like he might compete with KL Rahul for a middle-order spot, but that changed when Rahul stepped in as an opener for the first Test due to Rohit Sharma's absence.

In his 11 Test innings, Sarfaraz has notched up three fifties and a century, but he also faced some backlash for a series of low scores during the home series against New Zealand, despite scoring 150 in the second innings of the first Test. India suffered a 3-0 defeat in that series, marking the first time they lost to New Zealand at home and their first home Test series loss in over ten years.

Manjrekar commented on ESPNCricinfo, saying, "Sarfaraz Khan had an impressive first-class record with three fifties and a century, but then he struggled in the next Test and was completely sidelined. I don’t think that’s fair."

What if he figured out how to score some runs?

Manjrekar mentioned that it doesn't really matter if Sarfaraz would have done well in Australia; he still deserved a shot because his track record in both domestic and international cricket speaks for itself.

"Even if you think Sarfaraz Khan might struggle on those pitches, what if he figured out a way to score, especially using the third man as his go-to spot? His performance against England was eye-opening. So, let’s not overthink it too much; we should just observe how they perform at the top level. But it's important to give credit to those who have consistently scored runs," he said.

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