Sarfaraz Khan – A star is born

Sarfaraz Khan

Indian cricket has been going through very favourable times recently. With so many seniors taking their final bow, various youngsters are putting their hands up. It seems we have decent replacements ready for the long term.

As far as the bench strength of Team India is concerned, this is the best phase ever. The emergence of youngsters like Vijay Zol, Sanju Samson and Mandeep Singh must have given a sigh of relief to the administrators of the BCCI.

Another very young player Sarfaraz Khan has also strongly claimed his stake. His outstanding performances have been highlighted all over the media. In the recently concluded under 19 quadrangular tournament, India won the title by defeating South Africa by a huge difference of 201 runs.

One player who did very well throughout the series is the sensational young talent Sarfaraz Khan. In the final, not only did he contribute with the bat – scoring 67 runs, but also took 2 wickets, just giving away 9 runs. Now let us have a quick look at the profile of this emerging talent.

Sarfaraz Naushad Khan was born on 27-10-1997 in Mumbai. He is a fantastic all-rounder who plays for Mumbai under-19s and the national under-19 team. He is a right hand batsman and right arm off break bowler.

Sarfaraz made a dashing entry into the world of cricket, when he scored unabated 439 runs in the Harris Shield inter school tournament in Mumbai. This was a milestone achievement, as he had beaten the previous record held by a certain Tendulkar!

Just imagine the skill and talent that he possesses. He has got amazing talent with the bat, scoring 300+ in an innings four times and 200+ six times, just at the age of 15. Also, while representing India u-19 at Vishakhapatnam against South Africa last month, he scored 101 runs in just 66 balls.

In the last ten matches, he averages 67.5 with the bat, which is really impressive. He has also taken 9 wickets over the same period, showing remarkable skills.

Many times, he has also successfully displayed his bowling prowess. Recently, he took 4 wickets playing for India under-19 against Sri Lanka. This could be an added advantage in his career.

His performances are a result of the sweat and toil put in by him. He is very passionate about the game and practices hard day in day out. This has become possible on account of total support and encouragement from his family, especially his father.

Although he has still not completed 16 years of age, we can surely say that he has the potential to achieve bigger things for India. The best part is that he can play aggressively, and yet remain on the crease for a long time. The future appears to be very bright. Hope he stays focussed. Best wishes!