Sarfaraz Khan is usually associated with someone who plays unorthodox shots, scoops behind the wicketkeeper, reverse sweeps and plays the upper cut at the slightest opportunity.
He may not have made an impact in the Indian Premier League, having played for three franchises – Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals – since the age of 17. He averages 24.18 in 46 IPL matches and 33 innings but strikes at 137.82, batting usually lower down the order when hardly left with many deliveries.
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But, when it comes to red ball cricket, the 24-year-old right-handed batsman has become a run-machine. Few have scored as consistent as Sarfaraz Khan, be it for Mumbai (928 runs in 6 Ranji Trophy matches in 2019-20 and followed it with 982 runs in the same number of matches in this year’s Ranji Trophy on either side of IPL 2022), West Zone (he scored 127 not out in the Duleep Trophy final in Coimbatore), Rest of India (he scored 138 in the first innings, counterattacking the Saurashtra bowlers after his team was 18 for three). Not to mention his scores for India ‘A’ batting in tricky conditions.
In 29 first-class matches and 43 innings, Sarfaraz has amassed 2928 runs at 81.33 and has scored 10 hundreds and eight fifties. Much to the statisticians’ delight, Sarfaraz scored one run more than the greatest of them all, Don Bradman, after his first 43 first-class innings. Bradman scored 2,927 runs at 83.63 in his first 43 first-class innings with 12 hundreds and nine fifties. Sarfaraz’s average is second only to Bradman (95.14) in first-class cricket with a minimum of 2,000 runs.
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Perhaps in the form of his life, it is felt that the time is now for the selectors to pick Sarfaraz in the Test team whenever they sit and pick the Indian team for the longest format, which will be early next year.
Former Mumbai chief selector and off-spinner in his playing days, Milind Rege said that he should find a place now in the Indian team. Talking to news18.com, Rege said: “He is in such great form. If you are not going to pick him now, and when the form deserts him, there is no point in picking him. Like Umran Malik, if you don’t pick him now when he is bowling at his fastest, will you pick him when he slows down? You must pick these players now."
Rege played a key role in bringing back Sarfaraz into the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team in 2019-20 after he went away to Uttar Pradesh in the previous years. He also served the year-long cooling-off period that made him more determined to score big at every available opportunity.
Rege said: “I saw in him the X Factor. He could change the face of the game and win you matches. This boy has come up through sheer hard work and helped by his father, who is a strict taskmaster. You wake him up in the middle of the night and ask him to bat, he will. He has practiced so much, he has played 300-400 balls a day, and all these things put together have begun to bear fruits now. Sarfaraz has done a lot of hard work."
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Former Mumbai wicket-keeper and coach when Sarfaraz made a comeback to Mumbai, Vinayak Samant, agreed with Rege and said, “I want to see him play Tests sooner. He is not scared of anything. He is a bindaas player. I am sure he will succeed there."
Former Test batsman and now a reputed coach, Pravin Amre said that Sarfaraz’s speciality was getting big hundreds. Amre, the assistant coach of Delhi Capitals, which picked Sarfaraz in the 2022 IPL auctions for Rs 20 lakh, said: “The last two seasons have been dream performances for him. That consistency is amazing. Getting back-to-back hundreds is special. We picked him in our DC squad mainly because of his consistency and his ability to play spin. We were the only team that backed him. I think his scoring abilities suggest that he performs at all domestic levels. Getting big hundreds is special. He will be on the selectors’ radar because of his performances. He is the type who plays according to the situation. He can score a 70-ball 20 as well as a 20-ball 40."
Former Mumbai captain and wicket-keeper Aditya Tare, who has had many partnerships with Sarfaraz Khan, said that he is ready for the next level. Sarfaraz batted at 5 and Tare followed him at 6.
Tare, who has chosen to move out of Mumbai and play for Uttarakhand in this domestic season, told this website: “Sarfaraz has got the game, is good against pace, good against spin. He is quite smart and ready for the next level. He really knows his batting. He knows how to get the runs. The conversations I used to have with him are that many batsmen scored hundreds in domestic cricket but only a few make it big. If you want people to remember, you have to convert them to double hundreds. He acknowledged that it makes sense that he won’t be recognised if does not score big hundreds.
“He has found his way of getting big runs, found a formula and worked hard at his game. We keep discussing how much he practices, how much he bats in the nets and he says, the more he practices, the better and easier he finds. In terms of preparation, he has put in a lot of hard work and that is showing in his results that he is producing. The big innings he is playing shows how well he is prepared, how hard he has worked on his batting."
Sarfaraz signalled his arrival back in Mumbai cricket with an unbeaten 301 against his former team Uttar Pradesh in the 2019-20 season after beginning with 8 & 71 not out versus Karnataka and 36 versus Tamil Nadu. The triple century was followed by 226 not out in just 213 balls against Himachal Pradesh in a rain-affected match, him scoring a majority of Mumbai’s total of 372 for five.
Sarfaraz has game awareness and knows when to attack and when to defend. His recent innings of 138 including 125 off just 126 balls on the first day of Irani Cup was one of counter attack and that caught the eye.
Tare said: “I particularly enjoyed Sarfaraz’s Irani Cup innings because he counterattacked. This is one aspect refreshing to see because Sarfaraz is usually slow to start, takes his time.
“I am not surprised with the way he has been scoring runs. Whenever I have played with him, it has been good. He reads the situation well, tactically he is smart enough to understand when to attack, which bowler to attack. I can read what he is trying to do, targetting certain bowlers he is comfortable with. He is very good at manipulating the field with his wide range of shots. Tactically, he is an extremely smart batter, especially in the longer format as it gives him a lot of freedom. He can shift gears after he is set. Once he gets 50-60, he accelerates when the spinners are on and we don’t realise that once he reaches his fifty, he is quickly into his hundred. He is quite determined to make his hundreds big. I keep talking to him about how many get big hundreds after reaching the three figures. Very few score big consistently. I tell him, if you want to stand out, you have to keep scoring big hundreds. He is quite determined to get big hundreds."
Samant agreed with Tare. Samant, who is currently coaching at City Cricket Academy in Leicester, England, said: “Sarfaraz is a very dedicated player. He knows how to score runs. His is a very controlled batting. In T20, you have to score fast and may get out. In day’s cricket, he has his own time, his technique is good and knows exactly when to score and when to defend. He is a very smart player. He is always involved in cricket, putting efforts in all the departments.
“He is a very smart player. Scoring big hundreds again and again or remaining not out is not easy. They come with dedication. He has control on his thoughts and control on his batting. As a result, he is able to score big runs. I wish he plays for India for many years."
Rege concluded: “There are people waiting to be inducted into the Test team. The biggest thing in Sarfaraz is that he has got that X Factor and does beautifully. He does not just go hammer and tongs. His shot-making abilities are so good, he adapts well and his concentration is good. He scores big hundreds. He may be stocky but he is physically damn fit. He runs hard, his cricketing acumen is good. He is ready for big cricket. And only when you put him in the highest level will you know if he is good or not."
And, when the call comes, Sarfaraz is determined to make it count as if that is going to be his last chance.
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