Sarfaraz Khan will give migraines to Australian bowlers: Sanjay Manjrekar

India's middle-order batter, Sarfaraz Khan, might have been one amongst the five batters to have not managed to open their account during India's dreary first innings effort with the bat during the ongoing first Test against New Zealand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. However, he made sure to make more than what his first innings effort seemed to lack, in fact 150 more, as his splendid knock was one of the main stimuli for India to post an increasingly competitive second innings total on the board, regardless of how the match pans out for them.

Former Indian cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar, was effusive of his praise directed towards Sarfaraz and was particularly impressed by the manner in which he played out New Zealand's pacers.

"Very happy to see the way he plays fast bowlers, and he has played fast bowlers before as well against England. This was a pitch very similar to the foreign pitches that we get, where there is a bit of pace and bounce. Interestingly, I am imagining him on a flatter pitch in Australia, where there isn't a lot of seam movement," stated Manjrekar, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

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Manjrekar also observed the various factors he felt Sarfaraz would end up being a headache for Australia during the impending Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

"He is going to give migraines to those Australian bowlers because of the shots that he plays. There is certainity, there is calmness, and if you see the close-up of Sarfaraz, he always watches the ball onto his bat. He has a tremendous hand-eye coordination. His technique isn't bad for Australia. I will be very excited to see how he goes, and he is a definite candidate, and he should walk into the India playing XI against Australia," added Manjrekar.

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The intent with which Sarfaraz approached his knock was heartening to see. He was not afraid of taking the charge to the bowlers, something the selectors are expected to have taken cognizance of. With India's squad not announced yet, Sarfaraz's innings provides him with a significant boost ahead of some other contenders.