Sarfaraz Khan faces harsh criticism as Dhruv Jurel and Shreyas Iyer vie for India spot

Sarfaraz was initially left out of the series against Bangladesh as India chose to go with the seasoned KL Rahul in anticipation of the upcoming tour of Australia. However, in a fortuitous turn of events, Sarfaraz seized his opportunity in the opener against New Zealand by scoring an impressive 150, earning him a spot in the playing XI for the rest of the series over the struggling Rahul. Unfortunately, his form dipped in the following matches, managing just 21 runs in the next four innings, including a duck, leading to concerns among experts about his place in the XI for the crucial Australia tour.

Amid his slump, Jurel and Iyer put up impressive knocks as middle-order batters in their respective red-ball games. While Jurel, who did not feature in a single Test match this summer despite being part of the Indian squad, scored a valiant 80 for India A on Thursday on a testing Melbourne track, Iyer followed up his Ranji Trophy century against Maharashtra last month, with a double ton against Odisha on Thursday.

The two performances left social media sending a warning to Sarfaraz as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy nears. Here are some of the reactions…

With Jurel's knock coming up in Australian conditions, especially on a track where India A were sent four down for just 11 runs in the second unofficial Test match against Australia A, national team head coach Gautam Gambhir might want the wicketkeeper-batter to feature in the Perth opener against Pat Cummins' men ahead of Sarfaraz. Not to forget, Jurel had an excellent debut series against England earlier this month, where he had even won the Player of the Match award in Ranchi for his batting heroics in both innings.

Iyer, meanwhile, is still making a strong case to launch a Test comeback, having been dropped from the squad midway through the England series earlier this year following a string of low scores. He did not make compelling case at the start of the domestic season in September, with unimpressive scores in Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup, and hence was not picked for either of India's home Test series. But Iyer has certainly forced his way into reckoning after consecutive Ranji tons.