He may not have earned his maiden India call-up yet, but Mumbai’s Sarfaraz Khan is touted as the country’s future batting star.
Sarfaraz has scored over 900 runs in the past two Ranji Trophy seasons. The 24-year-old recently amassed 982 runs with the help of four centuries and two fifties, at an incredible average of 122.75, to help Mumbai reach the final of the Ranji Trophy 2022.
While Sarfaraz is now knocking on the doors of the Indian Test team, the journey hasn’t been an easy one for him. He burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old talented batter acquired by the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The right-hander played under the captaincy of Virat Kohli for a few seasons but soon was shown the exit doors.
In a recent chat with The Indian Express, Sarfaraz said spending time with Kohli at RCB had given him a new perspective about fitness.
"When I played IPL in 2015-16, my fitness level was not good and Virat Kohli had also told me that. After that, I improved my fitness but I again put on weight. But in the last two years, I have been very disciplined about my health. Everyone’s body is different, but it should not affect my game. For the last eight years, I have been in the IPL and clearing fitness tests. In my off-season also, I will pay attention to my health and fitness,” the youngster stated.
"When we were not informed about diet practices, we used to eat anything. But now, we are strict about our diet. In our house, we used to have non-vegetarian food every day. However, now we avoid eating biryani and other rice dishes. We either eat it on Sundays or other occasions," he added.
Sarfaraz Khan’s also expressed his desire to represent India in all three forms of the game.
"I play in the hope that I get better every day. This is my passion; this is what I have always wanted to do and I never want to come out of this zone. When it will be in my luck, I will play for India," he said.
