After Test snub, Sarfaraz Khan joins ODI race with fastest List A half-century by an Indian

The tide is turning in Sarfaraz Khan’s favour. Nothing was going in his favour. After achieving his lifelong dream of playing for India in 2024, he was dropped from the Test team. Granted, his performance wasn’t exemplary, but one has to factor in that Sarfaraz played just 6 matches and that too, over a period of 8 months.

He was taken to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 but didn’t play. He also picked up an injury on the tour and couldn’t play any competitive cricket for the next four months. After getting the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy snub, Sarfaraz worked on his fitness and lost 17 kilograms.

Sarfaraz Khan fit and firing

On the right track, he suffered another injury setback. He missed the Duleep Trophy and couldn’t make his case for India A and Test selection. When Sarfaraz returned for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, he lost form. It wasn’t looking good for the 28-year-old.

But after a stressful 12 months, his fortunes changed. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he ended up as Mumbai’s best batter and even registered his maiden T20 hundred. He received an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract off the back of it.

And now, he’s doing wonders in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Recently, he broke Rohit Sharma’s record for the fastest List A hundred for Mumbai. Earlier today, against Punjab, Sarfaraz registered the fastest List A fifty by an Indian batter.

It’s all happening for him. Considered a one-format player, Sarfaraz has shown the selectors that he isn’t a one-trick pony. And if not Test cricket, he’ll make the cut to play for India in the other formats.

Fastest List A half-century by an Indian

• 15 balls – Sarfaraz Khan (Mumbai vs Punjab in 2025)
• 16 balls – Abhijit Kale (Maharashtra vs Baroda in 1995)
• 16 balls – Atit Sheth (Baroda vs Chhattisgarh in 2021)

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