Sarfaraz Khan reacts to securing maiden India call-up, wishes pour in from Pakistan

Sarfaraz Khan earned his maiden call-up to the Indian team ahead of the second Test, scheduled to start on February 2 in Vishakhapatnam. The Mumbai batters has now given his first reaction to finally making it to the Indian team. After the news came to light on Monday, Suryakumar Yadav congratulated the youngster. Penning a heartfelt note on Instagram, Surya wrote, “Maiden India call. Utsav ki taiyaarrii karo.” Sarfaraz reshared the post with background music ‘Aashayein’ from the 2005 Bollywood hit Iqbal.

Sarfaraz has been in scintillating form over the past few domestic seasons. Sarfaraz demonstrated his quality in the recently concluded unofficial Test match against England Lions in Ahmedabad. The Mumbai-born batter scored 161 runs off 166 deliveries. His knock which comprised 18 fours and five sixes. Thanks to his impressive performance, Sarfaraz was named the Player of the Series as India A won the match by 16 runs.

Despite putting up a series of impressive performances in first-class cricket, Sarfaraz was struggling to break into the Indian squad. His dream finally came true after KL Rahul was ruled out of the second Test against England due to right quadriceps pain. Rahul had a good outing in the series opener in Hyderabad, scoring 86 off 123 balls in the first innings.

Wishes also poured in from Pakistan for the Indian middle-order with Pakistan opener Imam Ul Haq and former player Kamran Akmal took to X (formerly Twitter) to congratulate Sarfaraz.

Apart from Rahul, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is also set to miss the second match after picking up a hamstring injury on the fourth day of the opening Test. To fill his vacant space, the Indian selectors have included left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar and all-rounder Washington Sundar. Rajat Patidar is also understood to be in contention to secure a spot in the playing XI of the second Test. Both Sarfaraz and Patidar may be in the playing XI if Kuldeep Yadav replaces Jadeja.

In his 45 first-class matches, Sarfaraz has racked up a total of 3912 runs at an impressive average of over 65. He has also slammed 14 centuries while registering 11 fifty-plus scores. In the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy, Sarfaraz aggregated 928 runs for Mumbai. He replicated his form in the 2022-23 season when he recorded 982 runs at an average of 122.75.

Meanwhile, having suffered a 28-run defeat in the opening Test against England, the Indian cricket team will now be aiming for a much-needed comeback in the second game.