Sarfaraz Khan: The prodigy who is making the world take notice

Mumbai Cricket without doubt has produced some of the greatest batsmen to come out of the Indian batting production line. The names of Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ajit Wadekar, Wasim Jaffer and Amol Mazumdar are few of the stellar names that we can rattle off. In recent times Mumbai Cricket has struggled to replicate the lofty title winning heights that they have been accustomed to. Amidst the gloom that Mumbai cricket have seen there is one shining light that has shone bright. The name happens to be one Sarfaraz Naushad Khan aged 24 and he is making the world take notice and the noise from his bat is done in big way.

Famous father and a massive record beckons –

Naushad Khan is a well known coach in cricket circles, he has coached the likes of Iqbal Abdulla and Kamran Khan. Abdulla was part of the team which won the Under-19 world cup in 2008 under Virat Kohli. The other was Kamran Khan who started off a left arm quick picked out of the blue by Shane Warne. He played for Rajasthan Royals in the 2009 edition of IPL before he was suspended due to suspect action.

Sarfaraz Khan playing for Rizvi Springfield against I E S school rattled off 439 runs off 421 deliveries with 56 fours and 12 sixes. He had been given 3 lives during his innings, once early when he was on 25, then when he was way past his double century on 253 and again on 302. During the course of the innings he went past the 346 by batting stalwart Sachin Tendulkar’s 346 which was scored 21 years prior in the same Harris Shield tournament. Speaking post his marathon innings, the youngster said “My father was telling me to better Tendulkar’s record. I was already on 235 and as one of the boundaries at Cross Maidan is short, I felt it was possible”

Under -19 run scoring feats –

Sarfaraz Khan played Under-19 World Cups, the first in 2014 and the second 2 years later. India lost to England in the QF of the 2014 edition before losing to Hetmyer led West Indies in 2016. In the ten games he has scored 7 half centuries and remained not out on 4 occasions.

If you see the table above Sarfaraz Khan has scored 559 runs from 10 innings with 4 occasions him being not out. He ended his Under-19 world cup stint with an average of 93.1 runs which is huge and also showed his consistency as far as run scoring is concerned.

Ranji Debut and Move to UP –

As 2014 was nearing to its end, Sarfaraz Khan aged 17 made his Ranji debut for Mumbai against Bengal. He scored a mere run before he fell to Dinda LBW. He had a turbulent time with the bat for Mumbai and made a move to Uttar Pradesh. He played a season for UP before making a return to Mumbai.

Making each century count –

While many aspire to play for India, Sarfaraz is having to put the hard yard to get the India cap. He made his return to the Mumbai side and during the 2019-20 season he scored runs for fun. After not playing the first two games against Baroda and Railways, he played against Karnataka. In the game against the Southern giants, he scored a mere 8 runs in the 1st innings but showed his class and talent with a 140 ball unbeaten 71 in the 2nd dig. From there no could stop the burly Mumbai lad as he racked up runs for fun. The numbers of his run scoring is shown below

In the 2019=20 season, Khan played 6 games and batted in 9 innings, staying unbeaten 3 times. He scored a total of 928 runs with an average of 154.6 and hit 102 fours and 22 sixes that innings.

The pandemic put a halt on the next season and one wondered if it was a one season wonder for Sarfaraz Khan. The 24 year old Mumbaikar has shown the world the old school Mumbai appetite for getting runs still exist. In the table below you will see his exploits this season and they aren’t a re-run from the 2019-20 season

In the short season this year, each team plays just 3 league phase games. In the 3 matches and 4 innings that Khan has played he has scored 551 runs from 4 innings with an average of 137.75. He has hit 58 fours and 9 sixes this season already to put Mumbai nearly through to the knock-outs phase.

India call up after the stellar show?

Indian test team is going through a transition with both Pujara and Rahane out of the team. Both have returned to domestic cricket to rediscover their form, but truth be told it looks very bleak that the two could make it back  to the Indian set up. This opens up a chance for someone like Sarfaraz Khan to take over and be given a chance. Khan also was part of the India A team on the tour of south Africa. He scored 85 in the two games he played with a best of 71 not out.

BCCI selectors will have their eyes on the talents and tall run scoring feats of Sarfaraz Khan, and the day isn’t far off when he could be handed the India call up and a possible India cap in the near future. Sarfaraz Khan during his 2019-20 season had remarked “Sirf 100 banake wapas nahi aaunga” he sure is making sure he does what he has been preaching. If he helps Mumbai win the Ranji title this year, one can be assured the India call up will be just around the corner.