Former India captain Sourav Ganguly was the latest to sing debutant Sarfaraz Khan’s praises after the youngster’s fine performance against England in the 3rd Test at Rajkot.
“Sarfaraz has started well. He now has to score in foreign countries. He is a good example for budding cricketers, who must keep in mind that if they score consistently, they will get their chances,” Ganguly said to Mid Day.
The 26-year-old Sarfaraz had endured a long wait to make his debut in national colours, despite setting the domestic circuit on fire with consistent runs in the red-ball format since 2019. The Mumbai batter sizzled against the English bowlers, scoring fifties in both innings to become only the fourth Indian to achieve the feat on Test debut.
Even Indian captain Rohit Sharma had lauded Sarfaraz’s presence during his first international match. “I have not seen Sarfaraz bat that much. But I have heard from Bombay (Mumbai) players that he has scored runs in difficult situations. And big runs,” he had said after the match.
“It gives an idea about his personality. Very hungry for runs and he has been scoring consistently. We didn’t discuss plans – we knew khula chod do toh kaam kar lega (job would be done if he was set open freely). That’s what I had heard from Bombay players also. He did seem nervous on the morning of the Test, but once the game started, he brought energy into the match. Felt good to see him score,” Rohit had added.
Meanwhile, Ganguly also praised the efforts of Yashasvi Jaiswal who notched up his second double century in as many games.
“Jaiswal is not only a good player, he’s capable of playing all in formats of the game,” Ganguly said.
In the match, After setting a 557-run target, courtesy of Jaiswal’s second-innings double hundred (214 not out), India pulled off their biggest Test win (by runs) as England folded for 122. Jadeja, who scored a vital hundred earlier in the game, revelled with the ball on his home ground with figures of five for 21.
Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.
