Sarfaraz Khan is just four days into his Test career. Yet it feels as if this is the right time to briefly look at his eventful journey. Glance through his staggering first-class numbers and you will notice a cricketer who has accumulated mountains of runs– 4042 at a stunning average of 70.91. Just to put it into context, he is only behind Sir Don Bradman and Vijay Merchant when it comes to highest averages in first-class cricket. Minimum qualification: 50 innings.
That he had to wait for long to find a place in the Indian Test side is another matter. But here is a player who has class and pedigree. His pedigree could be observed on his Test debut against England in Rajkot when he scored fifties in each innings. He was dismissed only once in the Test and that too on the back of a terrible mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja, resulting in his run-out.
It wasn’t just about the runs he scored. It was also about the way he tackled England’s spinners. In the first innings, he almost immediately showcased glimpses of his pyrotechnics by tonking Joe Root through midwicket. As soon as Root attempted to go wider, out came the bludgeoning sweep shot.
Tom Hartley, England’s spin mainstay in this series, troubled him a couple of times on Day 1. But that didn’t stop Sarfaraz from basing his game on intent. Sarfaraz lofted Hartley down the ground. On expected lines, Hartley followed it up with a shorter length delivery and Sarfaraz pulled it into the boundary hoardings.
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Those who have followed Sarfaraz’s game against both spin and pace will vouch he can irritate the best of bowlers by cracking shots in unusual areas. In an imaginary sense, he can also target two different areas of the field while facing a couple of deliveries that are pitched on a similar length. Now, that is a gift of nature.
These unique characteristics generally form a major part of most of Sarfaraz’s hundreds in domestic cricket. Just to exemplify the point further, let’s consider his hundred in the Ranji Trophy final of 2022 against Madhya Pradesh. Sarfaraz didn’t just play orthodox sweeps or drives. But he was also ready to guide a few over third man. He wasn’t shy to even bring out the reverse lap that soared over the ‘keeper’s head. It was a quintessential Sarfaraz hundred.
Sarfaraz is also a keen observer of the game. Many years ago, when he had gone for a selection trial, he had ended up watching the legendary Sachin Tendulkar giving batting tips to Mohammed Ashraful, the former Bangladesh batter, about how he needs to watch the bowler’s arm until the ball is released. Somewhere, he imbibed the maestro’s insights and ended up breaking the record for the highest individual score in the Harris Shield.
This is about Sarfaraz and his game. But there is another element to his journey: Naushad Khan, his father. Naushad, who is also a cricket coach, has basically been the backbone of Sarfaraz’s cricket. Just read through most of Sarfaraz’s old interviews and you might end up seeing his father’s name being mentioned. Going by how Sarfaraz played in his first Test, there is a good chance that he would continue to make his father feel proud about his son’s heroics on the field.
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