Even the Englishmen seemed impressed with Sarfaraz Khan following his exploits on Thursday.
Fresh from his blazing 66-ball 62 on international debut in the third Test here at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium — now known as the Niranjan Shah Stadium — the 26-year-old, after an interaction with scribes at the designated area for news conferences, was greeted and congratulated by Paul Collingwood, England’s assistant coach in Tests, and the England and Wales Cricket Board head of team communications, Danny Reuben, who reminded Sarfaraz of his training stint with Hull Cricket Club in the Yorkshire League back in 2012.
Sarfaraz duly acknowledged, his smile reflecting his humility.
An hour or two prior to that, though, the Mumbai youngster was hardly that polite on the 22-yard strip, slaughtering the England bowlers with a bold and aggressive approach, that too in his maiden appearance at the highest level. Sarfaraz’s innings, comprising nine boundaries and a maximum, not only complemented centurions Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja’s efforts after India were tottering at 33/3, but will also serve as a fitting reply to all those who questioned his place in the national squad.
Some had mocked his “excess weight” to write him off even before he had faced a ball in international cricket. “How does weight come into play if you can score a 100 or take five wickets?” asked Amol Muzumdar, who was the Mumbai head coach till the end of the 2022-23 season and played a crucial role in motivating Sarfaraz when the latter was extremely frustrated for being repeatedly ignored by the national selectors despite his tons of runs in domestic cricket.
Sarfaraz Khan hugs his father Naushad Khan after receiving his debut Test cap during the third cricket Test match between India and England PTI picture
Sarfaraz amassed 928 runs in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy, and bettered that with 982 in the tournament’s 2021-22 edition. Yet, that “not good enough” phrase kept ringing in his ears.
“He has shown today (Thursday) what he is capable of. During those frustrating days he was going through, I just told him, ‘Keep scoring runs without thinking what can happen and what can’t. Your job is to score runs, so just keep scoring. You can only answer everyone that way.’ He did exactly so,” Muzumdar, currently the India women’s team’s head coach, said.
From the outset, Sarfaraz had seemed intent on putting the English attack to the sword, continuing with the form he had shown against England Lions for India A in Ahmedabad last month.
But just as he had to chant the ‘apna time ayega’ (my time will come) mantra before finally getting his Test cap, Sarfaraz had to show “a little more” patience in the dressing room before going out to bat. For, Rohit and Jadeja were stitching together a massively vital 204 for the fourth wicket, making him wait with his pads on.
“I was padded up for almost four hours. I kept thinking that I have kept so much patience in life so far, so there’s no harm in being a little more patient,” Sarfaraz stated.
“After I went in, I was nervous for the first few balls. But since I have practised and worked so hard, everything went well.”
His father Naushad and wife Romana couldn’t hold back their tears when Sarfaraz received his Test cap from Anil Kumble before the start of the match. Naushad, who’s also Sarfaraz’s coach, wouldn’t have been here if not for a message from Suryakumar ‘SKY’ Yadav, with whom Sarfaraz has had a lot of “dhamaal masti” (fun and enjoyment) in the Mumbai dressing room.
“Initially, I thought I wouldn’t come as that would put Sarfaraz in some kind of pressure while I also had a bit of a cold. But then came Surya’s voice clip,” Naushad said.
Surya’s message to Naushad was simple: “Sir, I do understand your emotions. But when I received my Test cap (February 2023 against Australia in Nagpur), my father and mother were there. And that moment was something beyond special. These moments don’t come too often, Sir. So, I would suggest you go.”
That worked. “After this message from Surya, I just took a pill and reached yesterday (Wednesday),” Naushad added.
For Sarfaraz too, getting that smashing 62 with his father in the stands was the “proudest moment” of his life. “It was my father’s dream to play for India, but unfortunately, it couldn’t happen due to some reasons and there wasn’t much support from home at that time,” Sarfaraz said.
“But then, he worked very hard on me and is now doing the same with my brother (Musheer). It was my dream to play for the Indian team in front of him and it is the proudest moment of my life.”
Now that he’s got the start he was looking for after coming into the XI in place of Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz has got to deal with the expectations, which can sometimes feel like a burden.
“Now that he has grabbed the opportunity with both hands, all Sarfaraz needs to ensure is to be consistent. Consistency will be vital for him going forward,” former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar, currently a member of the BCCI apex council, told The Telegraph.
