Sarfaraz Khan - The wonder boy from Mumbai
Sarfaraz Naushad Khan, aged 17 years and 340 days, first hogged the limelight when he became the youngest player to make his debut for an IPL team. He scored just 11 runs in 7 balls on his debut but showcased his talent at the big stage when he scored a blitzkrieg 21 ball-45 not out, hitting 6 fours and a six.
For a 17-year-old, sharing the same dressing room with the likes of Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli is something they just dream about, but not for Sarfaraz though. But was it really his IPL stint which first brought him to the headlines? Not really.
Almost 6 years earlier, at a tender age of 12, he made it to the news by breaking Sachin Tendulkar's record of 346 runs in the Harris Shield Cup, scoring an enormous 439 at more than a run a ball, which was the highest individual score in the tournament. In the 420 balls that he faced, he smacked 12 sixes and 56 fours.
His U-19 record is phenomenal too. With the bat, he averages over 50 having scored 564 runs at an average of 51.27 scoring 108.46 runs per 100 balls. In last year's U-19 World Cup, he scored 211 runs at an average of 70.33 which earned him a place in the Team of the tournament. When he was just 15, he scored 101 off 66 balls in a U-19 game against South Africa.
His average with the bowl is even more impressive at 19.84. He is a miser with the ball, taking 13 wickets giving away runs at just 4.06 per over.
Going by his batting statistics, one may assume that he is a T20 kind of a player, but in an interview recently, he said that he wants to prove that he isn't just a T20 player. And he did just that, scoring 155 runs off 164 deliveries for Uttar Pradesh in its Ranji Trophy opener.
Sarfaraz’s similarities with Sachin Tendulkar
He is multitalented. He can bat, bowl off spin, leg spin and medium pace (reminds us of Sachin Tendulkar, isn't it?) and has also kept wickets. The city of Mumbai has produced legends like the original little master Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, names which needs no introduction.
Funnily, he stands almost as tall as Tendulkar, measuring 5 feets and 4 inches. He is modest, as he wanted to gift his father an SUV from the money he made in the IPL. Sachin was bullish as a young boy & Sarfaraz has already faced disciplinary actions by MCA indoor academy, although now he has a cool head over his shoulders. Quite some similarities there!
How successful would he be on a long run, is something to speculate, but he is certainly a name to watch out for in the future.