Sarfaraz Khan has played six Test matches for India so far.
Inspired by legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, who rated the tournament highly in their playing days, Sarfaraz stressed the importance of Mumbai cricketers playing in the Kanga League to motivate youngsters.
“During my childhood, I heard many stories from my father (Naushad Khan) about how Sunil Gavaskar sir once turned up for a Kanga League match despite returning from England the same morning,” Sarfaraz told Mid-day.
“So, Musheer (my younger brother) and I have always taken pride in playing this tournament. While returning from Nagpur last evening (Saturday), we were hoping it wouldn’t rain today.
“It rained a bit this morning, but when I reached Islam Gymkhana, the weather was good. I played my last Kanga League match three years ago. I was going through the league fixture book before this game and saw my name in it for scoring a century in 2018, and it felt nice,” he added.
Sarfaraz went on to explain why all Mumbai cricketers must participate in the Kanga League.
He said: “All Mumbai players should play the Kanga League. Some players feel that if they fail here, it’ll be bad for their future. But if Gavaskar sir and Sachin Tendulkar sir thought the same way, they might not have gone on to become legends.
“If big players participate in this tournament, it will be an inspiration for the city’s youngsters. Kanga League is such a tournament that if you succeed here, you can score runs anywhere in the world.”
Sarfaraz Khan has played six Test matches for India so far, scoring 371 runs at an average of 37.10, including one hundred and three half-centuries. His only ton so far came against New Zealand in the first Test at Bengaluru last year as he slammed a magnificent 150 in a losing cause.
However, the Mumbai batter failed in the remainder of the home series, which India lost 3-0. Subsequently, he didn’t get a chance to play a Test match on the tour of Australia.
For the England tour, Sarfaraz was completely ignore as the selectors brought back Karun Nair to the Test fold after seven years while Sai Sudharsan received his maiden Test call-up.