2024-02-16 06:19:14
Legendary Anil Kumble dropped India’s Test cap on Sarfraz Khan’s head. The teammates around are welcoming the newcomer with clapping. Meanwhile, the camera turned to the other side. A man with unruly hair is trying to hide his eyes with the collar of his jacket. His name is Naushad Khan, father of Sarfraz.
The boy will come down for the country with the burden of expectations of 1.5 billion people. That too in the traditional format of cricket. Sarfaraz Khan’s father could not hide his tears of joy after witnessing that moment. He only saw that his son had grown up. Brings glory to fatherhood. That’s why the heartless tears are just an unnecessary attempt to hide!
Sarfaraz with father Naushad Khan.
Sarfaraz has released the fountain of runs in Indian domestic cricket. Ranji, the biggest yardstick for the chances of the national team, also unleashed a flood of runs. Still, for some unknown reason, the doors of the national team were not opening for him. This cricketer was disappointed. That’s when his father came to trust him.
Naushad Khan understood his son’s frustration. One day after the match against Delhi, he called his son and said, ‘Your job is to run, you run.’ This 26-year-old young man has followed his father’s words to the letter. A look at Sarfaraz’s domestic career will show the validity of the ‘Run Machine’ title.
A father-son hug after receiving the debut cap.
His journey began in 2009. At the age of 12, Sarfraz created a stir across India by scoring 439 runs in the Harris Shield Inter-School Tournament. Since 2014, this young man has been performing regularly in domestic cricket. Looking at his batting statistics from 2019 till now is unbelievable.
Nearly four thousand runs (3912) in 66 first-class innings. There are 14 centuries and 11 fifties. The average is 69.85, which is the fourth highest in cricket history. Sir Don Bradman’s highest average is 95.14. He scored more than 900 runs in Ranji Trophy in two consecutive seasons 2019-2020 and 2021-2022. Sarfraz had a batting average of over 100 in first-class cricket in three consecutive seasons.
An emotional moment between father and son after fulfilling their dream.
Despite such a performance, the door of the national team did not open for him. Due to which a storm of criticism swept across India. Finally got a call to the team against England. Sarfraz said in an interview to BCCI after receiving the call for the Test, ‘It’s all a test of patience. If you want to play test cricket, you have to be patient. I am very happy I am more happy for my father.’
How that joy was seen today on the TV screen. Naushad Khan hugged his son He kissed the test cap with tears of joy in his eyes. With that cap on his head, now it’s Sarfraz’s turn to come down to the field. Naushad Khan’s turn to fulfill his long-time dream. Naushad must have hoped to see the star named ‘Sarfraz’ in the sky of Indian cricket.