Sarfaraz Khan | The kid who is breaking the rules
He is the naughtiest kid in the class. While the textbooks instruct every student to play in the 'V', he excels in hitting behind the stumps. While the teacher asks the students to play with a straight bat and 'show them the maker's name', he will mostly show 'them' the back of his bat. Yet, his mischievousness with the bat in hand is what makes him a breath of fresh air.
Even physically he seems like a square peg in a world of round holes. In an age of abs, rigorous fitness regimes and diet experts, he walks onto the pitch with a paunch, and then he succeeds. For some, his physical stature reminds them of Aravinda da Silva, although his batting style seems more like a love child of Romesh Kaluwitharana and Tillakaratne Dilshan in their primes.
Sarfaraz Khan questions conventionalism. The fearlessness, flamboyancy and unorthodoxy he brings onto a cricket field was last witnessed when a long, brownish mane sporting MS Dhoni broke into the Indian national team.
It takes something exceptional to stand out in a batting lineup which consists of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson. The crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium was yet to regain their senses after the extravagant show put on by two of the best batsmen in the world, and yet, by the time Sarfaraz Khan had finished his innings, he nearly, nearly managed to overshadow everything that has preceded him.
He batted for just 10 deliveries, but he batted at a staggering strike rate of 350. In the 19th over, he faced Bhuvneshwar Kumar, a bowler who has played 57 ODIs and 14 T20Is for India, and Sarfaraz treated him like any of the faceless and nameless kids he had faced while practising in the nets, at the Azad Maidan, with his father shouting instructions.
Kumar was looking for yorkers, after all, he got the better of Virat Kohli with one of those earlier in the innings, and Sarfaraz took him to the cleaners. Sarfaraz khan went across his stumps, went down on his knee and lifted it over the short fine leg fielder for a boundary. A reverse scoop shot followed in the next delivery, as the ball flew over the short third man fielder for a six.
Bhuvneshwar did not get his length right in that over, but Sarfaraz showed the ability to hit the same delivery to all the corners of the ground, as he took 28 runs off him in the penultimate over. RCB won by 45 runs in the end and Sarfaraz's innings of 35 proved crucial to the cause.
Chris Gayle called him his son in the mid-innings interview with the broadcaster, while Shane Watson, who was at the receiving end of a similar innings when Sarfaraz made his debut against the Rajasthan Royals in the 2015 IPL, said, "The control over the shots he has...never seen before for a young talent like him”.
That 'control' is not just all inborn talent. Behind every success story, there are hours of practise, long scooter rides, and an incredibly driven father. Naushad Khan is a renowned cricket coach in the Mumbai circle having guided the likes of Iqbal Abdullah, Kamran Khan and Rahil Sheikh to IPL stardom.
However, Naushad's dearest undertakings are his two sons – Sarfaraz and Musheer. While Sarfaraz has already made it to the limelight, his younger brother, 11-year-old left arm spinner, is waiting in the wings.
Despite being flamboyant, Sarfaraz has an insatiable hunger for runs, installed in him from a young age by his father.
“I would make him bat for long hours in simulated match conditions. The rule was simple — he had to run with his pads on as many rounds as the number of times he got out. Eventually, he started realising the importance of his wicket and he that’s why he is getting big runs,” Naushad said in an interview back in 2013.
The method worked. He scored 439 runs in a Harris Shield match, the famous inter-school tournament in Mumbai, to break the record earlier held by a certain Sachin Tendulkar.
Despite gaining media attention and adulation at an early age, Sarfaraz has remained humble. After he won a Rs. 50 lakh paycheque during the 2015 IPL auction, he decided to buy a car for his father. Not because he wanted to flaunt his new financial status, but because he worried about his father's safety.
Before his IPL days, Naushad used to take both his sons, and their kit bags, on his motorbike and travelled 20 kms daily from Kurla to Azad Maidan. His father even met with an accident once, and was severely injured.
"My father was critically injured in an accident in 2010. He fractured his right shoulder and had to be operated upon.
“I was scared for him. I had thought then that whenever I make some money, I will buy a car for him. I tried in between to save some money, but it wasn't sufficient.
“I plan on buying an SUV for him now.
"I know it is very dangerous to commute like this, but trains are not safe either. There was no other option to reach for practice sessions on time. And after the accident, there is a constant pain in my father's knees. I wanted to provide him a comfortable mode of travelling," Sarfaraz said.
From Azad Maidan to the Chinnaswamy Stadium – it has been a meteoric rise for Sarfaraz Khan. He has stood out with his performances in a supremely talented Indian U-19 side, and he already has the highest number of 50+ scores in the U19 World Cup's history.
The 18-year-old might soon be fast-tracked into the senior team in the shortest format of the game. Selectors are monitoring him, while a lot of senior players are apparently impressed by his performances. Slowly, he will be exposed to different schools of coaching, and experts will be queuing up with suggestions on how to improve his technique.
It will not be all rosy for him in the future. There will be matches where his scoop shot will reach the short fine leg fielder, instead of clearing the ropes. However, it is important that his future coaches do not tie him down with orthodoxy. Some diamonds are supposed to remain uncut.
