When India A's squad for the upcoming four-day matches against South Africa A was announced on Tuesday (October 21), there was a notable omission in it.

Sarfaraz Khan, a consistent performer in domestic cricket, failed to make the cut, sparking widespread debate among fans and former players.

Many have questioned the logic behind leaving out the prolific Mumbai batter, who has long been on the fringes of the Indian Test setup.

Meanwhile, Mumbai skipper Shardul Thakur has said Sarfaraz doesn't need India A exposure tours and series to play international cricket as the middle-order batter can reclaim his Test spot with runs in domestic cricket.

Sarfaraz has represented India in six Tests so far, scoring 371 runs at an average of 37.10 with the help of one century and three half-centuries. His last Test appearance was against New Zealand in November 2024.

While Sarfaraz was a part of India's tour of Australia late last year, he has been sidelined from the Test squad since then.

"Nowadays, for the India A side, they look at boys, who they want to prepare for international cricket," Thakur told the media on Friday (October 24).

"Sarfaraz doesn't need India A game to play international cricket. If he gets back to scoring again, he can straight away go and play Test series also," he added.

Sarfaraz returned with scores of 42 and 32 in Mumbai’s maiden victory over Jammu and Kashmir in their first Ranji Trophy 2025-26 match.

"He is coming from injury lay-off. But before that, he scored two-three centuries in the Buchi Babu Trophy before getting injured.

"Coming back against J&K in the previous match, he had a nice 40 (42). It was very unfortunate to have been run out. But for him, I don't think playing India A is important," Thakur stated.

The all-rounder backed Sarfaraz to produce good in coming games as Mumbai look to build on their strong start.

"He is a senior pro and whenever we put him in there in the 22 yards, he is someone who always delivers in crunch situations," Thakur said.

"He has big scores of 200-250s and those innings have come when the team was two or three down quite early in the innings. To play that kind of innings under pressure, you have to have something special in you."

"He is one of the special players who never disappoints to perform and put up big scores. He has done it for years and years. Regardless of which number he bats, I think he will deliver," Thakur explained.

Mumbai will now face Chhattisgarh in their second Ranji Trophy game, starting on Saturday (October 25) at the BKC Ground.