"Has the ability to do what Rishabh Pant has done" - Former India cricketer's bold take on discarded batter ahead of ENG vs IND 2025 Tests

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif made a bold take on discarded batter Sarfaraz Khan ahead of the Test series between England and India. The two teams will play a five-match series with the first Test, beginning on Friday, June 20, at Leeds.

In a video on his YouTube channel, Mohammad Kaif said that not including Sarfaraz Khan in the Test squad for the England series was the wrong move. The batter displayed good form in a practice game against England Lions as well, scoring 92 runs in an innings.

"With Sarfaraz Khan, it has been injustice with him. Him not being in the team is a wrong decision. Sarfaraz Khan scored a 150 in seaming conditions in Bangalore against the best bowling side New Zealand against whom you lost all three Tests. Since his Test debut he has scored almost 50 runs in each game apart from few innings," Kaif said. (8:00) "You invested in him and he was on the path of becoming a solid player and then you did not play him a single Test match in Australia and then dropped him. It is absolute injustice with him. He is scoring for India A as well and is proving time and again as to what sort of a batter he is. He is doing his job but his exclusion is a wrong call and he was a deserving player," he added.

Kaif also believes that Sarfaraz can have the kind of impact Rishabh Pant has had with the bat in Test cricket. Sarfaraz is known for his ability to score quick runs even in the longest format.

"A player like him if he plays even two hours he will change the game. Sarfaraz Khan has the ability to do what Rishabh Pant has done for India in Tests," Kaif added.

Sarfaraz has played six Tests so far and has scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10 and a strike-rate of 74.94 with a century and three half-centuries.

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"Virat Kohli is not coming back" - Mohammad Kaif responds to fans wanting Kohli to return for India in Test cricket

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli's absence in Test cricket has been among the prime points of discussion ahead of the England series. He recently announced his retirement from the format. While his fans want him to return and stage a comeback, Mohammad Kaif believes that the fans should get used to watching the Indian team play without Kohli in Tests.

"Virat Kohli's fans still want that he makes a comeback and starts playing again. Their wish is that they want to see him and will not be able to sleep without that. There are those kind of fans who may not even watch the game without him. Virat Kohli is not coming back. He will not comeback in Test matches. He will play ODI and IPL. Now he has moved on and fans need to understand this. If he has taken retirement from Tests he would have given it a lot of thought. Having now taken the call, I do not think he will comeback no matter how the Indian team plays," Kaif opined. (2:54) "He will not take his decision back. It does not even suit him to say I am coming back please take me. He will not do that. We all should get used to supporting our Indian team without Virat Kohli. We must back our players when they are having bad days also," the former cricketer added.

Kohli played 123 Tests for India and scored 9230 runs at an average of 46.85. He also scored 30 hundreds and 31 fifties in the format. He is also the most successful Test captain for the country.

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Edited by Aditya Singh