If Shubman Gill recovers from his stiff neck for the second Test in Pune from October 24, the Indian team management will be in for a dilemma. Axing Sarfaraz Khan to accommodate Gill in the XI will be unfair to the former.
Particularly after his game-turning 150 and 177-run partnership with Rishabh Pant on Saturday, Sarfaraz certainly deserves a place in the XI for the Pune Test.
For someone who used to be criticised even a year ago and also body-shamed for not having the ideal physique like a lot of international cricketers today, Sarfaraz’s Test numbers so far (350 runs at an average of 58.33) are a perfect retort to his detractors. The 26-year-old, though, prefers to keep himself grounded.
“I always keep this in mind that tomorrow is uncertain. It’s happened in the past that while thinking about tomorrow, my present was hampered. So, I try to stay in the present,” Sarfaraz said.
A standout component of his 195-ball innings studded with 18 boundaries and three maximums was how prudently he tackled the short-pitched stuff from the New Zealand pacers. On the back foot, the Mumbai batsman produced the late and upper-cuts with ease as all three quicks looked futile with the old ball.
“I like playing the balls that rise high,” Sarfaraz said. “I have a bouncy wicket back home (in Mumbai), and I play regularly there. The bounce easily allows me to cut it.
“They (New Zealand) were trying to ball short at me outside off-stump, and I played accordingly. It was fun.”
Talking about his partnership with Pant, Sarfaraz said: “I was trying to give him the strike while the left-arm spinners were bowling. I knew he would hit them out. We were trying to create pressure from both ends as I was also countering their pace attack well.”