The Ranji Trophy quarter finals begin on Tuesday, but for Sarfaraz Khan the season has ended. Mumbai failed to qualify and India’s most talked about batter in the domestic circuit currently is now looking forward to the IPL, where he will play for Delhi Capitals.

Sarfaraz, 25, finished with 556 runs from nine innings at an average of 92.66 this season. That in fact is actually a slight dip in his form from his humongous tally of 928 runs from nine innings at 154.66 and 982 runs from nine innings at 122.75 in the two previous Ranji seasons. His first-class average of 79.65 (in 37 matches) remains second after Don Bradman’s 95.14.

A national call-up has remained elusive though despite former captain Sunil Gavaskar and India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin speaking out in Sarfaraz’s favour. But he is not losing hope and has faith in destiny.

“My father keeps telling me, agar naseeb mein likha ho toh mera bhi time aayega... (my time will also come if it’s there in my destiny).

“He has been my guiding force and I believe his words. Selection is not in my hands. I play cricket for the love of it and will keep doing so,” Sarfaraz told The Telegraph on Monday.

Sarfaraz’s father, Naushad Khan, has prepared a turf wicket in their backyard at home and the 25-year-old often practises with him there.

“I have learnt to not set targets. I have no expectations since it only leads to disappointments. I focus on hard work and leave it to destiny,” Sarfaraz said.

But doesn’t he feel depressed at times? “No point... I’ve learnt from Suryakumar Yadav, who faced a similar situation and is now the best T20 cricketer in the world. He never lost hope when the selectors ignored him but became more determined.

“I speak to Surya regularly and he tells me to wait for the opportunity. Surya inspires me to not stop dreaming. My coach Amol (Muzumdar) Sir has also been a huge source of encouragement.

“I prefer to stay away from the noise around me. It helps me to concentrate. I stay far away from social media too. There’s no point in repenting. I start every day afresh.”