Sarfaraz khan

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) aren’t looking to take Sarfaraz Khan to England as part of India A. The squad for the tour hasn’t been confirmed yet, but the Test regular won’t be going. Since making his red-ball debut for India in February 2024, Sarfaraz has played 6 Test matches, all at home.

The move isn’t exactly shocking. The 27-year-old is seen as a spin specialist, and the BCCI didn’t send him as part of India A to Australia before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy either. But he was selected in India’s main squad. And according to Indian Express, it’ll happen again.

No Sarfaraz Khan in India A squad

Sarfaraz will travel with the main team to England after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 ends on June 3. The first batch of the India A squad, including Ishan Kishan and Yashasvi Jaiswal, will leave early to face the England Lions at the Spitfire Ground in Canterbury from May 30 to June 2.

The main India team will leave in the first week of June but won’t be able to play the second practice match from June 6 to June 9 at the County Ground in Northampton. Sarfaraz, along with the others, will likely play an intra-squad match in Benkenham before the series commences on June 20.

Injury rules Padikkal & Patidar out

Other than Sarfaraz, the two main names missing from the India A squad will be Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar. Both made their debut along in the same series as Sarfaraz. Padikkal even played in Australia. Both are injured and unlikely to play for India A.

Padikkal was ruled out of IPL 2025 due to a hamstring injury, while Patidar is suffering from a finger injury. Reports suggest that he’ll only come as an impact substitute for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). But even if he was fit and RCB qualified for IPL 2025 Playoffs, he wouldn’t have gone to England with India A.