sarfaraz: Sarfaraz has never been disrespectful towards anyone: Source close to player

Sarfaraz Khan’s absence from the Indian team has been linked to fitness and discipline issues but Mumbai cricket sources insisted there was no truth to the claims. While it is felt in the BCCI circle that Sarfaraz needs to work on his fitness and be a bit more disciplined on and off the field, Mumbai cricket insiders have defended the middle-order batter.

Sarfaraz was not shown pointing the finger towards the dressing room after scoring a crucial hundred against Delhi the previous season.

It was seen as a dig by one of the selectors watching the game.

“Sarfaraz’s celebration during the Ranji match in Delhi was meant for his teammates and coach Amol Mujumdar, who had tipped his hat. The selector present was Salil Ankola and not Chetan Sharma. Sarfaraz got the team out of it the situation was stressful and the celebration was one of the reliefs,” sources close to the cricketer told PTI on Monday.

“Is it even wrong to be elevated in your celebration and that too while you are focusing on your own dressing room,” said the source.

There was also an incident where the MP coach, Chandrakant Pandit, was not happy with his attitude but the source said that Pandit was always fond of him. “Chandu treats his sir as his son. He always had good things to say about him and has known him since he was 14 years old. He would not be angry with Sarfaraz,” said the source. People close to Sarfaraz want to know why he was ignored in the Indian team despite scoring big.

The current Indian team has a fitness criteria of 16.5 and he has cleared it and as far as cricket fitness is concerned, he has sometimes batted for two days and fielded for another two days .