Ranji Trophy 2022 witnessed a plethora of superb performances from players across the country but one talent that stood out was Mumbai Sarfaraz Khan. Fans have seen him doing wonders in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on many occasions but this year, he made sure that his batting skills in the longest format should also get noticed.
Sarfaraz ended the 2022 season on a high, scoring a total of 982 runs in 9 innings and averaging a staggering 122.75. Throughout the tournament, he smashed 93 boundaries and 19 sixes as well. He also got 4 centuries, second-most this season, including the one in the final against Madhya Pradesh.
His team, 41-time champions Mumbai, may have lost the final but the 24-year-old has certainly left a deep impact in the minds of Indian selectors. Former India captain and a Mumbai legend, Sunil Gavaskar even said he won’t be surprised if Sarfaraz lands up in the Indian Test setup.
In a conversation with The Indian Express, the youngster got overwhelmed to know about Gavaskar heaping praise on him. But personally, he focuses on the process more than his chances to play for the country.
“It’s a matter of great honour that he thinks so highly of me. If you go to any cricket ground and ask any child practising there what his ultimate goal is, his answer would be that he wants to play for India. I also have the same dream. But my Abbu says, ‘trust the process’. I play in the hope that I get better every day. This is my passion; this is what I have always wanted to do, and I never want to come out of this zone. When it will be in my luck, I will play for India,” Sarfaraz was quoted as saying.
Fitness has always been a point of discussion when people talk about Sarfaraz. He is indeed an impressive striker of the cricket ball, but fitness is also something that cannot be taken for granted.
The youngster revealed that even Virat Kohli once spoke to him about the same when he was a part of Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2015-16. Sarfaraz said he would work more seriously on his ‘health and fitness’.
“When I played IPL in 2015-16, my fitness level was not good, and Virat Kohli had also told me that. After that, I improved my fitness, but I again put on weight. But in the last two years, I have been very disciplined about my health. Everyone’s body is different, but it should not affect my game. For the last eight years, I have been in the IPL and clearing fitness tests. In my off-season also, I will pay attention to my health and fitness.
“When we were not informed about diet practices, we used to eat anything. But now, we are strict about our diet. In our house, we used to have non-vegetarian food every day. However, now we avoid eating biryani and other rice dishes. We either eat it on Sundays or on other occasions,” he concluded.
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