Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan may have fallen out of favour with the national selectors, but he continues to grind in domestic cricket.

Sarfaraz, who has 5,090 first-class runs to his name at an average of 65.25 in 61 matches, has represented India in six Tests so far, scoring 371 runs with the help of one hundred and three half-centuries. His last Test appearance was against New Zealand in November 2024.

While Sarfaraz was part of India's tour of Australia in 2024-25, he has been sidelined from the Test squad since then.

On the eve of Mumbai’s final league-stage Ranji Trophy fixture against Delhi, Sarfaraz addressed how he deals with the repeated setbacks. His answer suggested that the right-hander is not dwelling on uncertainty and rather focusing on routine, preparation, and performance.

“I try to stay in the present. I can’t do anything about the past. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. All I know is that I’m going to go home, bat at home, spend time with my father, sleep at the hotel and play the match tomorrow. I don’t think about the future. I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing for years,” Sarfaraz said, as quoted by The Indian Express.

With this approach, Sarfaraz achieved great success in Mumbai’s penultimate league match against Hyderabad. He slammed his fifth double hundred in first-class cricket, a performance that powered Mumbai to a dominating victory and sealed qualification for the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals

While the 28-year-old continues to pile up runs in first-class cricket, he has also shifted his attention to fine-tuning his white-ball skills. Sarfaraz has been working closely with his younger brother Musheer, whom he believes has skills to thrive at the highest level and also lead the country.

“I’m working hard on my white-ball game. I want to play for India in white-ball cricket and I’m paying attention to that. I’m also working with Musheer. His bowling complements his batting and vice versa. It’s not a big deal for him. Musheer is going to be the captain of the Indian team one day. I keep an eye on him. He’s young and plays all three formats,” Sarfaraz stated.

Sarfaraz Khan’s stunning exploits in the recently held Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy earned him a contract with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The five-time IPL champions signed him for his base price of Rs 75 lakh in the mini-auction last month.

Reflecting on his IPL journey, Sarfaraz said: “My dream was to play with the legends of this generation. I played with Virat bhai at RCB. I never thought I’d get a chance to play with Rohit bhai, but I did in the Test team. I never thought I’d play with Mahi bhai, especially after he retired from international cricket. But after going unsold, CSK picked me in the IPL. I consider myself very lucky.”