'Keep scoring runs, for whichever team' - Sarfaraz Khan reveals father's message after India snub

Domestic cricket star Sarfaraz Khan is exuding confidence despite not getting a chance with the national team, stating that he has inculcated the art of thriving under immense pressure and he will never give up.

The youngster has had a tremendous domestic season, dominating the oppositions with authority and consistency. Strangely though, even after some mind-boggling domestic records, he has been overlooked  when it comes to selection in the Indian team.

Sarfaraz had admitted that he had a sleepless night following his non-selection in Indian team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But the cricketers said he would not slip into depression over that, and would keep working harder. And that Sarfaraz has done, as right after Indian announced their Test squad for the series against Australia, the 25-year-old struck his third Ranji century, against Delhi. He credits his father to be his biggest motivator.

"My father came [to Delhi] a couple of days ago, and I trained with him for two days in Ghaziabad [near Delhi] before the game. He knew I was upset [at not being selected]," Sarfaraz said. "So he said, 'Our job is to keep scoring runs, for whichever team, all the time'. Since I was a child, whenever I have been a bit confused, or things have not gone right, he does the same thing, he just motivates me and gives me confidence, and prepares me mentally," Sarfaraz was quoted by ESPNcricinfo. 

Surpisingly, however, Sarfaraz's India A performance have not been that praiseworthy. Further, many a times, the right-handed batter's fitness has also been a concern. While he has impressive stats in the Ranji Trophy and first-class cricket, it is also true that he hasn’t always shone at the India A level. Sarfaraz has only scored 205 runs at an average of 34.16 in his first six 'A' games. He scored 21 and 0 in his two innings in the tour of Bangladesh just before the Ranji season started.

“A human being can’t be successful all the time,” he said. When questioned about the 'A' records, he said, “When I played my first match for India A, I scored 71 not out [in Bloemfontein]. The other players got out, otherwise I could have scored a century. But yes, I was dismissed cheaply a few times. After that, in the series against New Zealand A, I was out early once and scored 60 in another innings. It has happened a few times that the lower-order batters have got out quickly, and I didn’t have the opportunity to score more. I will keep trying to improve my numbers for India A too”, Khan signed off.

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