Sarfaraz credits knock to his father

I’ve had my troubled times, but Abbu never left my side, says a tearful batter

Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan shed a few tears after reaching his century against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy final here on Thursday. He got emotional a second time when he spoke to the media at the end of play.

Sarfaraz dedicated the knock to his father and mentor, Naushad Khan.

“Abbu (father) and I started my cricket journey from absolutely nothing. The dream was to play for Mumbai. Another dream was to score a century in a Ranji Trophy final. That is why I got emotional when I reached my hundred. Abbu gets all the credit. If he was not around, then none of this would be possible. I’ve had my troubled times, but Abbu never left my side,” Sarfaraz, who could not control his tears, said.

“This is my best innings in the Ranji Trophy. There are two reasons for this — it was the final, and our team was in a bit of a tricky situation. I had to stick around at the crease, even if that meant I had to face 300 balls without scoring many runs. I only thought about what the team required,” Sarfaraz said.

Sarfaraz had a long chat with national selector Sunil Joshi after play. Joshi would have, no doubt, been impressed with Sarfaraz’s recent form and insatiable hunger for runs.

Asked if an India call-up was on his mind, Sarfaraz said, “When I’m at the crease, my focus is purely on batting. The crowd, the live telecast... nothing matters to me. When it comes to playing for India, every human being has dreams in his life. Slowly, these dreams come true. I will try my best to realise this dream.”

The 24-year-old stated that his century celebration was a tribute to late rapper Sidhu Moose Wala. “I listen to his songs a lot everywhere I travel,” Sarfaraz said.