Mumbai/Hyderabad: A glittering board at the Mumbai Cricket Association's (MCA) office inside the iconic Wankhede Stadium in South Mumbai, features all the players who have represented India.
On Thursday, another name has been added to the illustrious list, which boasts of names like late Ajit Wadekar, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Praveen Amre, Ajit Agarkar, Ravi Shastri, Sandeep Patil - Sarfaraz Khan.
And no wonder it is an emotional moment for 26-year-old Sarfaraz and his father cum coach Naushad, who dreamt of it together and waited for this day for a long time. And their dream was realised finally at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Thursday on a windy morning.
Sarfaraz has been making headline since the age of 12 when he broke the record for highest score in the Harris Shield, a prestigious inter-school tournament, and scored a staggering 439 for the Rizvi Springfield, hammering 56 fours and 12 maximums. Rightly so, it was just the start for young Sarfaraz, who then toiled day and night, guided by his father at the Maidans of Mumbai.
Former Mumbai stumper and coach Vinayak Samant under whom Sarfaraz has played termed him as an intelligent player. "He will play session by session and will see how he and the team will benefit. He is an extremely hard working player and I'm sure it will be a challenge for him to face the English attack, but he will excel with flying colours," Samant told ETV Bharat over the phone.
He then started playing the age group cricket and eventually made his first class debut for Mumbai against Bengal at the famed Eden Gardens in Kolkata on December 28, 2014.
He then was picked for the Indian Premier League and then kept scoring loads of runs at every stage and kept knocking the doors for a national call up. In the 2022-23 season, Sarfaraz scored 556 runs in just six matches with an average of 92.66, with three hundreds and one fifty. In the 2021-22, Sarfaraz was the top-scorer for Mumbai as he amassed 982 runs in six matches with an average of 122.75, with four hundreds and two fifties.
Former India players had demanded that Sarfaraz be picked in the national team as he was consistently scoring runs in the domestic circuit. Thanks to his heroics in domestic cricket, he was picked for the series against England, that he earned his maiden national call up and finally made his Test debut in Rajkot.
A senior MCA official Ganesh Iyer, who has closely seen Sarfaraz's journey, said "What a day as run getting machine Sarfaraz Khan from the Mumbai stable of cricket makes his debut for India in the third Test between India and England today. A dream come true for his father Naushad Khan. Privileged to be present at his cap presentation ceremony."
A Prithvi Shaw or a Yashasvi Jaiswal could have made their Test debuts before Sarfaraz, who happily posed for the shutterbugs with his prizes possession. For the record, Sarfaraz has played 45 first class matches and amassed 3,912 runs, with an unbeaten 301 as his highest score. He has 14 first class hundreds and 11 half centuries.
Naushad couldn't hide his emotions after former India skipper Anil Kumble handed over the prestigious cap to Sarfaraz. Naushad kissed the India cap and Sarfaraz.
"Very proud of you, the way you have come through and I'm am sure your dad and your family will be extremely proud of what you have been able to achieve," Kumble, India's greatest spinner, who has a whopping 619 Test wickets, told Sarfaraz.
"I know you have done all the hard work, there were some disappointments, but despite that, all the runs that you scored, through the domestic season, well done to you and I'm sure you will have lots of wonderful memories today. Start of a long career and only 310 people, have played before you, this is for you, we'll done," Kumble, himself a former India captain and now a broadcaster, said. The video of cap presentation was posted by BCCI on its X (formerly known as Twitter) handle.
Sarfaraz is a typical Mumbai batter, who doesn't give up and has the 'Khadoos' attitude. He has bailed the Mumbai team on numerous occasions in domestic cricket, be it red ball or white ball.
So much so was his love for the game and a common dream that during the COVID 19 period when the entire country was in a lockdown and sporting activity had come to a standstill that Sarfaraz, who had gone to his native village in Uttar Pradesh, practiced in his house. There were numerous challenges in his journey but he overcame them, fought then with valour and continued to pursue his unfulfilled dream. There is an proverb in English, 'Where there is a will', there is a way and Sarfaraz's journey echoes the same.
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