New Delhi, Oct 22 (IANS) A political storm broke out on Wednesday after Congress national spokesperson Shama Mohamed accused India head coach Gautam Gambhir of religious bias in team selection after the omission of Sarfaraz Khan from the India ‘A’ team.

On Tuesday, the BCCI selection committee named the 15-man India A squad for the two first-class games against South Africa A, and Sarfaraz couldn’t find a place in the team, with chief selector Ajit Agarkar attributing Sarfaraz’s absence to injury concerns.

Shama slammed head coach Gambhir, questioning if Sarfaraz wasn’t being selected because of his surname. “Is Sarfaraz Khan not selected because of his surname! #justasking. We know where Gautam Gambhir stands on that matter,” she shared on X.

BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla was among the first to hit back at Shama’s remark, accusing the Congress of dividing the nation on communal lines.

“This lady and her party are sick. After calling Rohit Sharma fat, she and her party now want to divide even our cricket team on communal lines? Desh ka partition karke mann nahi bhara kya? In the same team, Mohammad Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed will play! Stop dividing India on communal and caste lines,” Poonawalla posted on X.

Shama had earlier drawn backlash for calling former India skipper Rohit Sharma a “fat sportsperson” and “the most unimpressive captain” during the Champions Trophy in March.

Sarfaraz’s last India ‘A’ appearance came against the England Lions in Canterbury, where he impressed with a solid 92. The 27-year-old batter has been among the most prolific performers in the domestic circuit. He averages 110.47 over the last five years in first-class cricket with five fifties and 10 hundreds, amassing 2,541 runs.

He last played for India in November last year when he played the three-Test series against New Zealand at home and scored a century. He was the third-highest run-getter (171 runs) in the series after Rishabh Pant (261) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (190).

In six Tests, he has amassed 371 runs at an average close to 40, including a fine 150 against New Zealand last year.

–IANS

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