“You cannot have just one policy to play on spinning tracks” – Saba Karim on Sarfaraz Khan’s dismissal in IND vs NZ 2024 3rd Test

Former Indian wicket-keeper bat Saba Karim questioned Sarfaraz Khan’s shot selection after he was dismissed for a solitary run in the second innings of the third Test match against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday.

Khan joined forces with Rishabh Pant when India was tottering at 28-4. The right-hander, who was playing at his home ground, swept the first ball for a single. The youngster then could not keep the full toss down as his sweep found Rachin Ravindra at deep square leg.

“Sarfaraz’s batting approach in the initial period has always been like this, whether in domestic cricket or here. He wants to score quick runs as soon as he goes in, and this is his favorite shot. He plays sweep shots against spinners even on docile wickets,” Saba Karim said on Colors Cineplex.

“In the end, you cannot have just one policy to play on spinning tracks. You need to have a variety of shots, especially square of the wicket, where you can get runs. Along with that, the biggest thing is that your defense needs to be extremely solid. You need to trust your defense. Rishabh Pant did that. He is backing his defense and then only he is getting loose balls,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added.

The former India selector said Khan played a premeditated shot against Ajaz Patel and it led to his downfall.

“Here, I felt, he had made up his mind beforehand. Before this as well, the Glenn Phillips over he played, he opened his account with a sweep shot. Once you have made up your mind, it’s very difficult to bail out from that position, and that’s what happened with Sarfaraz,” he said.

Karim, whose career ended due to an eye injury, feels it would have been better if Khan had played the full toss with a straight bat to get a single in the V.

“It was a full toss, you could have easily played it with a straight bat. However, you had made up your mind beforehand that you would sweep every ball. The sweep is a very productive shot on this wicket but for that, you need to pick the right length. I feel Sarfaraz made a mistake there only,” Saba observed.

Khan scored 171 runs in three Test matches against New Zealand at an average of 28.50. Barring scoring a fine knock of 150 runs in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test, Khan could not deliver in five innings of the series.