Sarfaraz Khan made his India debut in England Test series.
Sarfaraz Khan had realized his dream of playing for India in the England Test series at home earlier this year. He scored an impressive 62 on his Test debut and then followed it up with another solid knock of 68 not out in the second innings and 56 in the Dharamsala Test.
However, that was the last competitive match for Sarfaraz as he had failed to find a franchise in IPL 2024 and he has had a gap of more than 5 months since then. He had been named captain of the Mumbai team for the Buchi Babu tournament and will also play in the Duleep Trophy tournament.
During the off-season, Sarfaraz went back to his native village in Uttar Pradesh and began his behind-the-scenes operation, one that has seen him get leaner, fitter, and a lot more agile.
"There is nothing called off-season for me. I would wake up by 4.15 am and by 4.30 am, I would start the day with long-distance running. It was very helpful to improve my fitness because, by the end of the month, I was able to run 5 km in 30-31 minutes.
It was my priority and we (his father Naushad and me) put a plan in place. So, once I’m done with my running, I would hit the gym. So, the first half of the day was allotted for fitness and fielding drills. The batting part would begin in the evening,” Sarfaraz told Indian Express.
Now with the Indian home Test season set to return with two matches against Bangladesh and three against New Zealand, Sarfaraz wants to make it count.
Sarfaraz may struggle to make the India XI now that KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer have returned to the lineup. But he isn't getting ahead of himself; he has no expectations for the Bangladesh series, which begins on September 19, but he's also not leaving anything to chance.
"I'm not looking at the Bangladesh series. But I've to follow the process and be ready. This (playing matches) is very important for me. I’ve not had this level of practice in Mumbai because of the rains. You are just facing a bowling machine, side-arm throwers, or sometimes bowlers in indoor facilities.
But I don’t like batting indoors because the ball comes nicely onto the bat. It is not the case on turf because it will challenge you a lot. And you can only improve by practicing hard.
I have zero expectations… But I’ll be ready if the opportunity arises. That is what I've been doing all along and I don’t see any reason to change that," Sarfaraz added.