Sarfaraz Khan’s shots might look awkward sometimes, or one can argue that he scores more square of the wicket, as he did in this Bengaluru Test, but for me and him, what matters is getting runs. Be it anyhow, anywhere. Run toh run hota hai. And Sarfaraz knows how to get them.
I have known him for more than 15 years now; he made his Mumbai Ranji debut under my captaincy. He has revived his game, especially in the past three years; he has scored everywhere. It’s his grit and determination that has taken him here.
Today the Ranji game started at 9:30 am and only our manager has phone access. Just 15-20 minutes in, the manager told us that he was batting on 93. I thought he was joking; so we took the phone to check. In 20 minutes, he had gone from 70 to 93 runs! We all saw his hundred in the dressing room. It was a different feeling for me because there is a connection with him and his family.
I have seen his father fight, pushing hard every day. Musheer (Sarfaraz’s younger brother) had come today, I asked him, what was Tiger’s (Naushad, Sarfaraz’s father) reaction? He replied, ‘he was crying’.
I have seen Sarfaraz maidaan ke dhool-matti khaate (toil hard in the dust and mud of maidens). I never doubted his skill. We have a love and love wala relationship.Our bond is that we both tell each other the truth. We criticise each other but it’s a constructive criticism which is good for his game and life.
I always believed that he had that dum (spirit). I always feel joh mehnat ka star hote hai na, the one which you get after all the hardwork, that star he got today.
It was his first hundred and came in such a crucial situation. He showed that character that I have seen many times in the past. Like when he went to play the Irani Cup. He had reached Lucknow and told me that ‘I have to somehow make Mumbai win’. We had discussed the history of Irani and how we have not won for a long time.
When he was not getting picked despite scoring tons of runs each season, I never gave any sympathy; I tried to provide a solution. How better we can do it from here? Sympathy dene ke liye duniya hai but who is there to give a solution?
Bengaluru: India’s Sarfaraz Khan plays a shot on the third day of the first test cricket match between India and New Zealand, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak)
I told him that there are only two possibilities, “Atmasamarpan” (surrender) or “Aakraman (attack), there is nothing in between. Raston mein ek aane ka hota hai aur ke jaane ka (there are two paths: entry and exit). There is one choice: to stand on a divider and see the world or do something.
He chose the way of Aakraman. And when the opportunity came, khade hone ke jagah chahye thi, sone ke usne bana li. (He needed space to stand and he stretched it to sleep in).
I have never seen him skipping practice even on match day. If there is a game, he will get up at 5 am, bat for one hour near his home and then join the team bus. After the game he will go to the nearby ground and bat again. There have been days when we four or five players have slept in the same room because we will be discussing cricket throughout the night.
Sarfaraz might not have that old Mumbai batsmanship style but he has backed his skill. Cricket has evolved, so one has to be one step ahead. Earlier, it was about survival and now it’s about scoring runs. Sarfaraz’s game never changed, I was seeing his highlights last night and it felt as if he was playing a Mumbai local tournament. He has fine-tuned his game but didn’t change it, which is very important. Generally once a player reaches at one stage in their life, they feel, ke bhai ab kuch change karna padega. It’s where mistakes happen. The best thing about Sarfaraz is that he didn’t drastically change his game.
A sportsperson’s career is very small but in that small career, how much impact one can make is important. Ab deemag se sochna band karna hai, dil se sochna hai. (Got to stop thinking from head and do it from heart). God will give it, today or tomorrow. Sarfaraz is a perfect example; nothing happened in the last three years and when god decided to give, he gave a lot.
~As told to Devendra Pandey
