‘Arjun Tendulkar kitna naseeb wala hai na’ – Sarfaraz Khan’s father shares an emotional story from his son’s childhood

Sarfaraz Khan’s name has been doing rounds in the Indian domestic circuit for his mind-boggling performance in Ranji Trophy since 2019. The Mumbai batter has been in sublime form since 2019 as he’s averaging over 100 in the tournament over since the last three editions. Despite his staggering numbers, the 25-year-old has not been picked in the Indian squad. Recently, Sarfaraz’s father Naushad Khan shared an emotional story in an interview with Indian Express.

Sarfaraz’s father revealed that his son used to play with Sachin Tendulkar’s son Arjun. One day, in all innocence, Little Sarfaraz told his father,“Abbu, Arjun kitna naseebwala hai na? He’s Sachin sir’s son, and has cars, I-pads, everything.” Naushad nodded meekly and didn’t say anything. But soon his son came back to him running and gave him a tight hug. “I’m more fortunate than him. You can devote the entire day to me. His father is not able to give him any time.”

Meanwhile, Sarfaraz has been averaging over 100 in the last three editions of the Ranji Trophy. In the last two Ranji Trophy seasons, he has amassed 1,910 runs in just 12 games, averaging 136.42. He scored seven centuries in 18 innings, and also made 11 fifties.

Since 2019, the Mumbai batter has scored 2,466 runs in 27 innings at an average of 123.30 with 10 hundreds out of which there are two double-hundreds and one triple ton. He also has five half-centuries to his name.

In the ongoing season, he has amassed 556 runs to his name in nine innings at an average of 92.66 with three hundreds and one fifty to his name.

Despite, his staggering numbers, Sarfaraz failed to find a place in the Indian squad for the first two Tests of the upcoming four-match Test series against Australia. The selectors instead went ahead and included Suryakumar Yadav for his exploits in T20Is.

Following his team India snub, the 25-year-old expressed his frustration in an interview with IndianExpress.

I will not go under depression: Sarfaraz Khan

“I was down completely. It’s natural for anyone, especially once you have scored so many runs. I’m also human, not a machine. I too have emotions. I spoke to my father and he came to Delhi. I just had a practice session in Delhi with him. I have been getting messages and hearing that I should have been there. My father came and said our job is to score runs and he feels a day will come when I will play for India. So we need to keep that belief and let destiny decide the rest,” Sarfaraz said.

“Everywhere I go, I hear murmurs that he will play for India soon. On social media, I have thousands of messages talking about my exclusion. Sab bolte hain tera time aayega (everyone says your time will come). I came from Assam to Delhi the day after the selection, and wasn’t able to sleep the whole night. I kept asking why am I not there? But now after speaking to my father, I’m back to normal. I will never give up practice, I will not go under depression. Don’t worry, I will keep trying,” he added.