Sarfaraz Khan will compete for one open spot in India XI with Rajat Patidar in Vizag Test.
Sarfaraz, along with Washington Sundar and Saurabh Kumar, was added to the Indian squad as injury replacements for Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul. Jadeja injured his hamstring and Rahul suffered a quadricep injury in the Hyderabad Test.
However, it remains to be seen who replaces KL Rahul in the Indian XI, as Sarfaraz Khan is competing for the sole spot with Rajat Patidar. Patidar was included in the Indian squad as a replacement for Virat Kohli, who opted out of the first two matches due to personal reasons.
Sarfaraz may not only get his debut but would also be expected to come good on his debut. His Ranji Trophy and domestic cricket experience, where he has scored 3912 in 45 matches at an average of 69.85 should hold him in good stead.
Ahead of the Visakhapatnam Test, Sarfaraz spoke about his father’s contribution to his journey, his preparation, and his cricketing idols.
“My father introduced me to cricket, and I always wondered why am I even playing. By nature, I am an attacking batsman and I used to get out sooner than others and scoring big runs was getting difficult. It was disheartening to see others succeed while I wouldn’t be among the runs. Even when I moved from Mumbai to UP, he would take flights to come and see me,” Sarfaraz told Jio Cinema.
“He would start bowling to me on the terrace or the road itself before selection trials. Now I realize the impact and importance of those efforts. When I came back to Mumbai from UP, I was scared that this would bring a halt to my career and I strongly felt there was no future ahead of me, but my dad always stood by me. There’s no guarantee in life if you don’t get opportunities. But my dad always believed in hard work, and everything I have is a result of that work,” he added.
Sarfaraz spoke about his routine and shared that he enjoys spending more time in the middle, as he is known for big runs with 14 FC centuries and a best of 301* to his name.
“My strength is that I am not satisfied easily. I play 500-600 balls every day. If I don’t play at least 200-300 balls in a match, I feel like I haven’t done much. It’s a habit now. Practice in the morning, afternoon, and evening. I am used to only one thing, batting and facing deliveries. If you want to play five-day cricket, you have to stay patient and practice every day. I play cricket all day and that’s why I can stay on the pitch for a long time,” he explained.
He named the likes of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Sir Vivian Richards, and Javed Miandad as his inspiration when it comes to batting.
“I like to watch Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Sir Vivian Richards, and even Javed Miandad because my dad has told me that I play like him. I watch Joe Root’s batting also. Anyone who is succeeding, I am watching them to see how they are doing it so I can learn and apply it when I am in the middle. I want to continue doing this, whether it’s in the Ranji Trophy or playing for India in the future,” he said.
(JioCinema inputs)