Divergent emotions ensued right at the end of the recently concluded opening Test between India and England, however, fetching something exciting for the Indian cricket fan in the end.
While on the one hand, the sadness stemming from a sorry defeat conceded wasn’t the easiest of things to negotiate for the home fans, it wasn’t the end of the world.
And it most certainly isn’t!
While surely having their back broken and tail spun by a newbie spinner in Tom Hartley didn’t exactly please the Indian cricket team, none of whose batsmen were able to register a three figure mark, the news of a brand new selection for the forthcoming Test left something to cheer about.
Though truth be told, in his world, marked hitherto by the rancid taste of rejection, it was the biggest breaking development ever.
Sarfaraz Khan has seen many days in his domestic career so far.
There’ve been days where he’s debuted in the revered Indian Premier much to the appreciation of the T20 fans. There’ve been days where he’s hit centuries on the trot in the domestic firmament of the game.
But none, not a single day in the career of the youngster who’s played no fewer than 66 first-class innings, peaked with happiness as well as what occurred a few moons ago. For someone who’s scored runs, accumulated them, belted them, and been muscled his way through attacks on domestic and often, confusing turfs of India, being called up for the Second Test match against England contained surreal joy.
The kind of joy a kid attains when subjected to a bag of limitless candy.
Making runs for fun is his habit. And thus far, the Ranji cricketer known for his exploits for Mumbai has scored 3,692 in first-class cricket.
However, despite scoring those in heaps and dozens in the domestic annals of the game, what often followed was disappointment. The bitter disappointment of having not earned a call-up into the Indian national team.
Make no mistake for in Sarfaraz’s ebb lie some catchy achievements.
He has already scored a triple century in first class cricket and even managed to remain unbeaten on his 301.
From nine innings in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy season, he scored a flurry of runs, 556 to be precise.
And a season earlier, circa 2021-22, he even top scored in the Ranji trophy year scoring a whopping 982 runs. Yet, what followed then until very recently was the same turning of fate: non selection.
But all of that has changed now.
Years of making runs and painstakingly so, albeit not having been responded to as he’d have liked, have changed.
And Sarfaraz Khan will hope for the better.
What seems to be a big letdown for KL Rahul in that the right hander’s injury has jeopardised his imminent participation in the ongoing series, has opened a door, albeit a lucky one for Sarfaraz Khan.
Quite frankly, now is the time to deliver for the run-hungry batsman who’s willing to make a point or two in the highest echelons of cricket.
Now is the time for the 26-year-old to prove at an international stage his cricketing credentials and show that he belongs to the game’s highest levels.
In so doing, he must remember and never undermine the rather onerous path he’s walked on all these years to come as far as he did. Which is why the following is worthwhile to note in regard to Sarfaraz Khan:
At the beginning, Sarfaraz Khan was recognized as a prodigy in the Under-19 World Cup of 2014, where he smashed 211 runs but at an amazing average north of 70.
Not long after, he was roped in by the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Moreover, in the famed IPL, an inning 45 that came off just 21 deliveries against Rajasthan Royals helped Sarfaraz make an immediate impact in the cricketing world. It was a knock that compelled the great Virat Kohli to laud his talent.