Cricket prodigy gets feel of pitches

Ever since achieving this feat,Sarfaraz has decided that he has to do something more than extra if he has to get anywhere near his idol— master blaster Sachin Tendulkar. So he and his father Naushad Khan who is a cricket coach planned to “extend” their journey to their ancestral village of Basupur in Azamgarh by stopping at some cities famous for producing good cricketers and practice or play matches there. As a result,they first halted at Baroda and Sarfaraz played a friendly match there,then they reached Delhi and practiced with the local talent at Delhi before playing a match at Meerut. Now Sarfaraz is in Lucknow and is chalking out a plan to arrange for a match in a city whose Sports College has produced cricketers like Suresh Raina and RP Singh.

In an exclusive chat with The Indian Express soon after arriving in the state capital,Sarfaraz disclosed,“ I want to have a taste of whatever happens at a later stage from now itself so as to be better prepared for the future. I feel that playing matches and practicing with senior cricketers at different pitches in different parts of the country will be very beneficial for me.”

“I want to work as hard as possible so that I can be able to do something big for my nation. I have an obsession for cricket ever since my father gave me a bat and a ball when I was just four. To accomplish my aim,I make it a point to practice with players who are much older than me and play as much as competitive cricket with them as possible.” Probably because his father Naushad Khan,who was once in the Mumbai Ranji team probables but could not make it to the Ranji team which was led by Sachin Tendulkar,Sarfaraz lays a lot of emphasis on Ranji Trophy. “ If you have to make it to Team India,excelling in Ranji Trophy is just the right platform. I am the vice-captain of the Mumbai Under-14 team but I am preparing for Ranji Trophy from now on itself.”

Sarfaraz’s dream of meeting Sachin Tendulkar came true when his source of inspiration visited the Bandra Kurla Complex recently. “My team coach Prashant Shetty introduced me to him. Sachin Sir told me to play well in the match the next day. I am happy that I was able to score a century for the Mumbai Under-14 team in the West Zone tourney match the next day. Earlier,Sachin Sir had earlier sent me a bat and gloves.” “I also cherish the moments when I was invited by Shah Rukh Khan for dinner and legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar. They both were very encouraging,” he added with a smile.

His father Naushad Khan,who has trained Mumbai Ranji players like Rahil Shaikh and Iqbal Abdullah as well as Kamran Khan who hogged limelight during the Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL’s second season besides wicketkeeper Sufiyan Shaikh who played in the India under-19 World Cup team in New Zealand this year,said,“After Sarfaraz’s feat in Harris Shield,things have changed in such a way that I now no longer have to bother about Sarfaraz’s training expenses. He has got a five year contract with Reebok and Reliance (Mukesh Ambani Group) is giving a monthly scholarship to him for three years. Because of all this,I did not have to think twice when I had to take a flight from Delhi to Lucknow as I could not get a train ticket.”

“He is very talented among my present lot of trainees. So you I can say that now I am on mission ‘sonrise’ as I see a lot of promise in him. Till now he has performed beyond my expectations,” says the proud father.