Sunil Gavaskar, a legendary batsman for India, praised Sarfaraz Khan for his attacking 150 in the first Test match against New Zealand, saying that his batting performances were even more impressive than his weight.

Following his duck in the first innings, in which India was bowled out for 46, Sarfaraz spearheaded India’s 462nd innings total with an aggressive century, his first Test century, that included 18 fours and three sixes.

With his cheeky and unconventional smashes, particularly through the square area of the off-side, he mesmerized the cricket spectators at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. “Sarfaraz Khan has been denied a spot in the Indian squad for some time now, despite hitting hundreds of runs in domestic cricket.

This was mostly due to the opinion of people in authority that he lacked the trim waist required for playing international cricket. More remarkable than his weight loss were Sarfaraz’s comebacks with the bat. Regretfully, too many decision-makers in Indian cricket have unfathomable views,” said Gavaskar in his Sportstar piece on Monday.

He also used wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant as an example, who did very well in Test matches despite not having an extremely small waist. Examples of his exploits included smashing a beautiful 99 in Bengaluru and sharing a vital 177-run partnership with Sarfaraz in the second inning.

Another player who lacks the slender waist that these fitness fanatics seem to want is Rishabh Pant, yet what an impact player he is. Not only does he have to stand and walk for around six hours during play, but he also has to rush to the stumps to collect tosses. This is not to be overlooked.

“So, please stop using these yo-yo tests and evaluate a player’s mental toughness instead. That will be an accurate measure of a player’s level of fitness. Regardless of how little his waist may be, a player is match-fit if he can bat all day or bowl 20 overs in a single session.”

Speaking about India’s eight-wicket loss in Bengaluru, Gavaskar questioned if the Rohit Sharma-led team’s inability to handle bounce will worry them before a crucial trip to Australia later in the year.

“It just made them more frustrated that their valiant efforts were fruitless because the hitters who came after them had the skill or temperament necessary to handle a pitch that differed from the low-bounce ones they dominate.

If anything, one does worry about what’s in store in Australia given how the Indian batting has performed poorly in Bengaluru and Chennai, where there was some bounce once again.

“The pitches there, even the flattest ones, bounce higher than typical Indian surfaces. Nevertheless, the Kookaburra ball should work in the hitters’ favor since, after around twelve overs, seam movement becomes nearly nonexistent and hitting becomes much simpler,” he remarked.