RAJKOT: Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel had just been handed their India Test caps. The two debutants for the third Test against England in Rajkot were understandably emotional posing for a picture together. Sarfaraz, meanwhile, couldn't wait to finish the picture.
Once he was told it was done, Sarfaraz turned around and ran toward his father, Naushad Khan, and wife Romana Zahoor who were watching a life-long dream unfold in front of them. Naushad teared up embracing his 26-year-old son, and so did Zahoor. Sarfaraz handed his Test cap to Naushad as the proud father kissed the cap and his emotional son. All three were living a moment they had been waiting for years now.
From the time he broke Sachin Tendulkar's record in Harris Shield, he had been anointed as the next big thing for Mumbai as well as Indian cricket. This meant every step of the way, he had been under the lens of the media and the cricketing fraternity. And yet, the journey to this moment hasn't been easy. Despite working several hours every single day with Naushad, who was also his coach, and piling on runs everywhere he went, including for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, the wait to move up the ranks kept getting longer. He had two 900-plus Ranji seasons and followed it up with another stellar one last year, but the frustrating wait continued.
Eventually, when KL Rahul was ruled out of the Visakhapatnam, the Mumbaikar earned his maiden India call-up. In Rajkot, the dream Sarfaraz and his father had manifested came true — Test cap No. 311, Sarfaraz Khan.
Every once in a while comes along an athlete, whose selection makes everyone happy, whom everyone wants to do well and make the most of the opportunity that has come. For you know the hardships they have been through and that they deserve that chance as much as anyone else, if not more. Sarfaraz was one such story. The entire cricketing fraternity was anxious to see how he goes, and the 26-year-old did not disappoint.
After waiting for four hours, watching Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja bat, he walked in the 64th over of the day with the scoreboard reading 237/4. He was welcomed to Test cricket with a short-pitched delivery from Mark Wood. After a few balls of nervousness and constant communication with Jadeja, Sarfaraz was in his zone. It started with a late cut of Rehan Ahmed, and then a few slog sweeps off Joe Root before he stepped out to launch Tom Hartley into the sight screen.
From thereon, there was just no stopping him as he raced to a 48-ball 50, raising his bat aloft in the direction of the dressing room. It was a moment of satisfaction and joy, not just for him and the Indian team, but also for every single person who has heard and seen his numbers and was wondering why he was not playing for the country.
When he was batting in the middle, it seemed like he was in a hurry. That he just wanted to bat, bat, and bat, score as many runs, as soon as realistically possible. In the context of the game, it seemed like India would finish Day One with a score closer to 400. However, as is the case with fairytales and dreams, it comes to an abrupt end at times. On Thursday, Sarfaraz, too, had first-hand experience of it as he got run out in a mix-up when Jadeja was on 99. Although a disappointed Sarfaraz had to take a long walk back, it did not take long for him to come to terms with it. He had 62 runs next to his name in his first innings for India — a dream he and his father manifested, invested, and worked hard for.
To understand what it meant to him, all one needs to do is watch and listen to Sarfaraz after the match. He walked into the press conference room with his India cap on, and kept it next to him, swelling with pride. To say that the moment was his father's as much as Sarfaraz's would not be an understatement. As a coach, Naushad has made Sarfaraz an India cricketer and his other son Musheer was a top batter for the India U19 team in the recent World Cup. Which is why, when Sarfaraz says, "It was the proudest moment of my life," you know he is not exaggerating.
"I was six years old when he started my cricket. It was my dream to play for the Indian team in front of him. He was not ready to come but some people insisted that he go there, obviously, he had to come over since he worked so hard only for this day. He was very emotional as I took the cap in front of him and so was my wife. I felt as if some pressure was off my shoulders given the hard work he had put in on me, I did not waste it," he added.
The telling thing about his journey is the sheer number of people who are happy for him, who believed that he deserved this chance and witnessed him show that he belonged at this level. His success would instill belief in every domestic cricketer who is toiling hard and piling on runs in first-class cricket.
As for the wait to get to the big stage and play for India, Naushad summed it up in a poetic way while talking about the moment Sarfaraz got his India cap: “Raat ko waqt do guzarne ke liye, sooraj apne hi samay pe niklega. (Give the night’s passage its time. The Sun will emerge in its own time)."
Indeed, the Sun has emerged and it shone brightly on Sarfaraz in Rajkot.