Sarfaraz Khan - The rising star of Indian cricket

Sarfaraz Khan

Call him a spitting image of his father cum coach and you wouldn’t be wrong. Meet Sarfaraz Khan, the Indian U-19 teams new batting sensation. His father Naushad Khan, is a coach at a Mumbai club that has coached young local boys such as Iqbal Abdullah and Kamran Khan, to prepare them for bigger strides.

Sarfaraz is a right handed batsman who first grabbed eyeballs in 2009, for his 439 run scoring marathon, in a Harris Shield match-an inter school tournament. That was a magical number since it beat a record that was previously held by Sachin Tendulkar, who, Naushad says, is an inspiration to his son.

Sarfaraz, 16, made his Kanga League debut at the early age of 10, which made him the youngest player to do so but the record was over taken by his younger brother, Musheer (8), quite recently.  His father says, that he treats his sons like professional players.

Getting up at 5 in the morning to train alternately between an AstroTurf pitch next to his house and Azad Maidan, for several hours together, Sarfaraz has a non-existent normal teen life. So much so that he has a private tutor to teach him a couple of subjects and that too happens by appointment.

Naushad compares himself to Ramakant Achrekar and says that he puts Sarfaraz through a tough training session where he is made to run with his pads on even during practice matches at home. He believes that the more the practice, the more the confidence and the better his performance will be, especially under pressure. And not just batting, he trains his son to be an all rounder where Sarfaraz bowls leg spin and has also kept wickets.

Sarfaraz is now known as the rescue batsmen since he plays in the middle order and has many a time, rescued his U-19 team from defeat, by putting up big runs on the board.

In the on going U-19 World Cup being held in Dubai, Sarfaraz faced a huge crowd for the first time when India took on Pakistan, but nerves were the last thing on the young boys mind. He was adjudged as the man of the match owing to his brilliant performance, where he scored 74 runs, took a wicket and took 4 catches. In the second match against Scotland, Sarfaraz again came to the rescue and put up a score of 51 runs and maintained a healthy partnership with Deepak Hooda. He scored another half century in the fourth match against England.

His performance is definitely commendable and deserves a big pat on his back, but that’s a sentiment that his father does not agree with whole heartedly. He believes that staying on the pitch till the end of the match is crucial and Sarfaraz’s dismissal at 74 on the first day was something he did not appreciate. It’s almost like nothing is too good for the man and perfection is the only way out!

Now Sarfaraz’s younger brother, Musheer, is so proficient with his bowling skills that he dismissed Yuvraj Singh in a Kanga League match.

Looks like the Khans have made this a family affair and hope the two lads keep up with their stint of making India proud!