In an exclusive interview, young Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan said that he is ready to play for the Indian cricket team after achieving huge success in domestic cricket for Mumbai. He also spoke about the influence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on his game.
New Delhi: Sarfaraz Khan has been knocking on the door of the Indian cricket team for a while now and a century in the final of the Ranji Trophy has further stamped his authority on a place in the senior national team. The Mumbai batter was the top scorer of the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 and is currently playing for India A side in the Test series against New Zealand A.
Playing for Mumbai, Sarfaraz Khan scored a total of 982 runs with an average of 122.75 in the Ranji Trophy last season. Former selectors like Saba Karim believe that it is the right time to give him a chance in the Indian cricket team. Moreover, the Mumbai batter also feels ready to play for India and has all the right techniques to play at the top level.
“I am comfortable in all the formats of cricket. I started my career with T20I and have done well in white ball cricket. Right now, I am playing well in the red ball cricket as well, said Sarfaraz Khan in an exclusive interview with India.com.
He added, “I am completely ready to play for the Indian cricket team if I get a chance to show my worth. I will play for the Indian cricket team the way I have been playing in domestic cricket and the Indian Premier Lague. I will try to score runs in international cricket and continue my good performance.”
Sarfaraz Khan rose to prominence when he played for India in the Under-19 World Cup in UAE in 2014. He scored a total of 211 runs in six games at an average of 70.33 and was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bought him for INR 50 lakhs to play in the Indian Premier League under the tutelage of Virat Kohli.
The batter learned a lot from Virat Kohli while playing for RCB and also gave credit to Rohit Sharma for teaching him a lot of things related to cricket in the Mumbai dressing room.
“I have learned while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore with Virat Kohli. From Virat bhai, I have learned how to stay in the right mental state and what should you do as a cricketer. He knows what should be his prime focus on and off the field. So, these are some of the things I have from Virat Kohli. He maintains himself perfectly,” stated Sarfaraz Khan.
He added, “I have met Rohit Sharma, while playing for Mumbai. He always motivates me whenever I meet him. My father also has a huge influence on me, he always says to me that I should follow the process and try to do my best.”
Sarfaraz khan also revealed the reasons behind Mumbai’s domination in the Ranji Trophy competition and how playing for India A help players to build themselves for the senior national team.
He remarked, “The school cricket in Mumbai is really strong. From childhood, we get this habit of playing cricket for 3-4 days which really elevates our game later on. So, the level of our cricket is a bit above the rest.”
“India A is a good platform which helps you to get better and find a place in the Indian cricket team. The experience you get here is really important and it really helps you when you go to play for the Indian cricket team,” concluded the batter.
Sarfaraz Khan is currently playing for India A against New Zealand A and will look to score big runs to grab the eyes of selectors once again.
