Team India batter Sarfaraz Khan heaped praise on his captain, Rohit Sharma. He shared insights about playing under Rohit’s captaincy in the recent Test series against England.
The 26-year-old batter also hilariously compared Rohit's leadership style to the role portrayed by Aamir Khan in the iconic Bollywood movie 'Lagaan'. Sarfaraz expressed admiration for Rohit, describing him as an exceptional leader who brings the team together.
Sarfaraz recently made his India debut in the third Test of the five-match Test series against England in Rajkot, which the hosts won by a 4-1 margin. Sarfaraz scored two half-centuries in as many innings, showcasing his talent on the international stage on his debut.
The Mumbai-born batter played fearless cricket and showed immense talent, as he finished the series with 200 runs with the help of three half-centuries in his five innings against England.
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Sarfaraz Khan told AajTak: “Rohit bhai ke sath khel ke bhi mujhe bahut maza aaya. Main bahut time se cricket khel raha tha, 9-10 saal maine IPL bhi khela. Aur domestic bhi khel raha hoon. Mujhe bahut maza aaya Rohit bahi ke sath khel ke. Aisa laga ki... matlab jab unko dekhta hoon toh ekdum pyaar sa aata hai ki itne ache bande hai vo. Sabko saath mein lekar chalte hai. Jab vo team mein bolte hai kuch, apne vo movie dekhi hogi Lagaan. Aamir Khan kaise team banata hai. Toh unko dekh ke mujhe Lagaan movie ka he yaad aata hai.
(I enjoyed a lot while playing under the captaincy of Rohit Bhai. I have been playing for a long time now. I played in the IPL for 9-10 years and also played domestic cricket. So, it was a wonderful experience of playing under Rohit Bhai. Whenever I see him, I just admire his greatness. He takes everyone together as a team. Whenever he speaks something during the team meeting, it reminds me of Aamir Khan's movie, Lagaan).”
He added, “Daant-te itna nahi hai, bass samjhate hai. Har ek ke bolne ka tarike alag hota hai. Mujhe to nahi lagta ki daant-te hai kyuki Mumbai ki language thodi aisi he rehti hai. Tu kar ke baat karte hai pr iska matlab ye nahi ki vo daant-te hai. Ye hum Mumbai walo ki style hai. Hum waise he baat karte hai. Acha team ko saath mein lekar chalte hai. Bonding achi hai. Sikhate hai. Junior senior jaisa feel nahi aaya mujhe mere debut ke time pe.
(He doesn't scold us much. he only makes up understand and everyone has a different way of talking. I never felt that he ever scolded us. It's just the way of talking in Mumbai. We talk like that only. His bonding with the team players is very good. He never makes us feel that he is senior to us).”
The Mumbai star also revealed that his Instagram followers increased rapidly after his India debut. He added, "My Instagram followers have grown to 1.5 million after my Test debut. For the last four years, it was 600-700k followers on Instagram. Suddenly, after playing for India, it has become 1.5 million. It's good.”
Sarfaraz signed off by saying on his debut series, “From my childhood, I have been hearing stories about the importance of Test cricket. My father kept telling me the importance of the longest format of the game. It's not like there was no pressure, I felt pressure when I was playing my maiden series.”
(With PTI Inputs)
