“I am proud of you, your hard work to reach this moment and your performances in domestic tournaments have finally paid off. Of course, this journey will be through some disappointments, but many good moments await you. Your father and other family members will be proud of this achievement. All the best.”
When Sarfraz Khan accepted the Indian cap from Anil Kumble as the 311th player to represent India in Test cricket, it was not just a debut for a player. It was also a father’s dream come true. In Saurashtra’s Rajkot, Naushad Khan’s father’s tears and blooming smile have few parallels in cricket.
Sarfraz Khan, who took cricket seriously from the age of six, was his father Naushad Khan himself. The father had already made up his mind to make his son a cricketer who had demonstrated techniques beyond his age. Naushad Khan’s later goal in life was to make his son wear an Indian shirt, having provided facilities to grow up playing inside and outside the house.
Sarfraz, who came to RCB for Rs 50 lakh, scored 46 runs against Rajasthan Royals with a strike rate of over two hundred, while the greats like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Gayle were mere spectators. Virat greeted Sarfraz by shaking hands and bowing to him as he returned to the pavilion after completing the innings. The highest honor a seventeen-year-old could receive at that time!
The first turning point in his career comes when he moves on to club cricket in training and school life. A 12-year-old was in the news when he scored 439 runs in the Harris Shield, an inter-school tournament that played a pivotal role in the careers of Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli. A boy named Sarfraz Khan has been hailed as the future promise from Mumbai, which has given Indian cricket a handful of superstars. Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 21 years also became a legend with Sarfraz’s magical innings.
It was the innings that Sarfraz Khan along with his father, the Mumbai Cricket Association and the national and international media recognized and secured the boy’s future in cricket. Twelve-year-old Sarfraz Khan, who broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record, was in the international media.
The first setback comes in the midst of a comfortable journey towards life’s goal. The Mumbai Under-19 squad is on the verge of being suspended for age falsification. The father tested again using advanced technology, but the result did not change. But despite such setbacks, it became a habit for Sarfraz Khan to keep scoring every time he took to the field with the bat.
Sarfraz Khan’s performance in domestic tournaments once again caught the selectors’ eye. In 2014 and two years later in 2016, Sarfraz, who wore the Under-19 India jersey, was in the top scorer list in both these editions. Sarfraz made his debut in 2016 as the tournament’s second highest run chaser with over 350 runs at an average of over 70. Meanwhile, Sarfraz Khan made his debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and made it to RCB under Virat in the 2015 IPL.
Sarfraz, who came to RCB for Rs 50 lakh, scored 46 runs against Rajasthan Royals with a strike rate of over two hundred, while the greats like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Gayle were mere spectators. Virat greeted Sarfraz by shaking hands and bowing to him as he returned to the pavilion after completing the innings. The highest honor a seventeen-year-old could receive at that time!
Many donned the Indian jersey through the back door of IPL. Even the appointment to Test cricket has been enhanced by franchise tournaments. Sarfraz Khan, who was a prolific run-scorer in the domestic circles, unfortunately couldn’t match the pace of junior cricket. Even those who hit two sixes in a single night earned the status of a national hero and knocked on the door to the Indian team, which again became a mirage in front of Sarfraz Khan.
Players like Suryakumar Yadav, who made it to the Test team solely on the basis of T20 performance, failed to break through the Test format. Even in ODIs, the extended version of limited-overs cricket, the T20 players could not hold their own, a single sentence is enough to know the value of every run Sarfraz scores in domestic tournaments. The only exception to this is Ravi Ashwin who took 500 Test wickets today.
It was later in his career that hopes and dreams began to slip into disappointment. Even after scoring consistently and carving out a career in first-class cricket that can truly be compared to Don Bradman’s, each selection was destined to wait and eventually disappoint. Sarfraz Khan was at a loss as to what to do with his co-players wearing blue shirts one by one to represent India. His father became his mentor whenever he dared to admit failure. He kept reminding his son not to deviate from his goal.
Meanwhile, Sarfraz, who found it difficult to stay in the Mumbai team, shifted to Uttar Pradesh and came back to Mumbai after the expected performance was not possible. Sarfraz Khan celebrated his comeback by hitting a triple century against his old team Uttar Pradesh.
In later times his performances became less of a news story. An enviable consistency. Hundreds and two hundred were born at will. Sarfraz became the highest batsman after Bradman. The selectors, who tried to replace Sarfraz on the grounds of fitness and disciplinary measures, could not hold on. He responded with performances that created headaches for team selection committees. Sarfraz, who was part of the team once or twice, was lucky enough to play in Rajkot, Saurashtra. A batsman averaging 70 runs had to play 45 first-class matches to get the national jersey!
Father Naushad Khan’s Tears of Rajkot tells the story of a man’s life’s struggle. It was his father who supported Sarfraz at all times when he might have lost his confidence. Naushad Khan, who was confident of his son, who was about to give up his career after making sure that the goal was impossible, had to work harder than usual to overcome the challenges of the time of Covid and bring his son back to the field.
Sarfraz now runs away to his father Naushad Khan to win the Indian cap! How can you not squeal while holding your son who got his much-deserved hat belatedly!
As Sarfraz Khan walked back to the pavilion after an unlucky run out after a brilliant innings on debut, Michael Vaughan in the commentary box exclaimed: ‘How beautifully he played, where has he been for so long?’
He kept scoring hundreds and two hundreds wherever he played, despite his merits and at the mercy of the selectors. The future is with him. If he is not punished without reason, he will come back asking for the account of lost time! The lost times will be the witness of the coming times…!
2024-02-22 09:17:03
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