He has been scoring runs, a truckload of them, consistently but the India call-up continues to elude him. Sarfaraz Khan has been quite vocal about his frustrations at the repeated snubs but he’s not going to lose hope and vows to continue working hard to see his India dream come true.
Following his string of eye-catching performances, the 26-year-old Mumbai cricketer would’ve been hoping to get a call-up if not a debut before the BCCI was to announce India squad for the next month’s Test series against Australia at home. However, upon reading the list, the youngster was left with nothing but disappointment wondering what else he has to do to merit inclusion.
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“Everywhere I go, I hear murmurs that he will play for India soon,” Sarfaraz told The Indian Express. “On social media, I have thousands of messages talking about my exclusion. Sub bolte hain ‘tera time aayega’ (everyone says your time will come). I came from Assam to Delhi the day after the selection, and wasn’t able to sleep the whole night. I kept asking why am I not there?”
In 26 First-class matches, Sarfaraz has scored 3380 runs at a stunning average of 80.47 which include 12 hundreds and 9 half-centuries as well. However, he’s not going to hold onto the disappointment for long.
“But now after speaking to my father, I’m back to normal. I will never give up practice, I will not go under depression. Don’t worry, I will keep trying,” he added.
Sarfaraz further added how his father Naushad, a former club cricketer who now coaches both his sons, consoled him.
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“I was down completely. It’s natural for anyone, especially once you have scored so many runs. I’m also human, not a machine. I too have emotions. I spoke to my father and he came to Delhi. I just had a practice session in Delhi with him. I have been getting messages and hearing that I should have been there. My father came and said our job is to score runs and he feels a day will come when I will play for India. So we need to keep that belief and let destiny decide the rest,” he said.
When asked if his low scores for India A during the Bangladesh tour in November-December could have been a factor, Sarfaraz disagreed.
“Aisa nahi hai (it’s not like that), there are many players who haven’t played for India A team and have found a place in the Indian team. So I believe that apna time aayega (my time will come),” he said.
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