Sarfaraz Khan (cricketer)
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Sarfaraz Naushad Khan (; born 22 October 1997) is an Indian international
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
er who represents the
Indian national cricket team The India men's national cricket team, also known as Men in Blue, represents India in international cricket. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and is a full member nation of the International Cricket Council with ...
in
Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
. He plays for
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
in domestic cricket and has also represented
Delhi Capitals The Delhi Capitals, formerly the Delhi Daredevils, also known as DC, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Delhi that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by GMR Group and JSW Sports. Its home groun ...
,
Punjab Kings The Punjab Kings, also known as PBKS, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in New Chandigarh, Punjab, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burm ...
, and
Royal Challengers Bangalore The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, formerly Royal Challengers Bangalore, also known as RCB, are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 ...
in the
Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league in India, organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Founded in 2007, it features ten city-based Professional sports league organization, fr ...
(IPL). Sarfaraz represented India in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in 2014 and 2016. He is an aggressive right-handed batter, a part-time
spinner Spinner may refer to: Technology * Spinner (aeronautics), the aerodynamic cone at the hub of an aircraft propeller * Spinner (cell culture), laboratory equipment for cultivating plant or mammalian cells * Spinner (computing), a graphical widget in ...
, and an occasional
wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...
. He made his IPL debut for the franchise RCB in the year 2015 and was the youngest player, at only 17 years and 177 days old, to play an IPL match. In the very next season, he was the only uncapped player to be retained by a franchise in the IPL. Currently, he is the fourth-youngest player to play in the history of the IPL. As a 15-year-old in 2012, he was mentioned in the prestigious
Wisden Cricketers' Almanack ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...
along with his younger brother Musheer Khan. Khan has made his international debut during the 3rd Test between
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and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
at
Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...
on 15 February 2024. He became the fourth Indian cricketer to score twin-fifties on test debut. Sarfaraz's strike rate (94.2) is by far the highest among the 43 batters with two fifty-plus scores on debut in men's
Tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
(where balls-faced data is available).


Early life and background

Sarfaraz was born and brought up in the suburbs of
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
. His family hails from
Azamgarh Azamgarh is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Azamgarh division, which consists of Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh districts. Azamgarh is situated on the bank of Tamsa River (Tons). It is located east of the ...
, Uttar Pradesh. He spent most of his childhood in Azad Maidan. There Naushad Khan, his father and coach, nurtured young cricketers such as Iqbal Abdulla and Kamran Khan. His coaching began at an early age when his father discovered his talent of timing the ball well. In monsoon conditions it was difficult for him to reach the ''maidan'' (grounds) from his home in the suburbs, so a synthetic pitch was laid beside his house for practice. "Not only does it save our time and energy but it has also helped him get used to bouncier wickets that he will have to deal with later on," his father commented. He was unable to attend school for 4 years due to his cricket commitments, so a private tutor was employed for his maths and English classes.


Youth and domestic career

He came into the limelight when he broke the Harris Shield record of
Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who List of India national cricket captains#Men's cricket, captained the Indian national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest cricketer ...
, set in 1988, by scoring 439 off 421 balls. It was his maiden Harris Shield game in 2009 when he was just 12 years old. He was playing for his school, Rizvi Springfield. The innings included 56 fours and 12 sixes. He soon started playing for the Mumbai Under-19 team and his performance for them led to selection for the Indian Under-19 team. In 2013, he scored a match-winning 66 ball 101 against South Africa Under 19s, which included 17 fours and a six. Bharat Arun, the then head coach of the India Under 19 team, commented that: Sarfaraz played for India in two Under-19 World Cups (2014 and 2016). The 2014 Under-19 World Cup was played by 16 teams in a round robin format where India finished at the 5th position. He scored 211 runs in six games at an average of 70.33; two innings were fifties, and he ended up a strike rate of 105.5. Following this performance, IPL franchise
Royal Challengers Bangalore The Royal Challengers Bengaluru, formerly Royal Challengers Bangalore, also known as RCB, are a professional Twenty20, Twenty20 cricket team based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 ...
bought him for 5 million for the 2015 season. India finished as runners up in the 2016 Under 19 World Cup in Bangladesh. In the tournament Sarfaraz finished as the second highest run scorer. He scored 355 runs from six innings, with five scores of over 50, at an average of 71. At the Under-19 level he has the record for most number of fifties in World Cups (7 fifties across two World Cups). Sarfaraz Khan got to his 2nd successive hundred, this time an unbeaten 200-plus score in Round of Ranji Trophy at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium. Sarfaraz started his Ranji career with Mumbai when he played against Bengal in 2014. He started playing for Uttar Pradesh from the 2015–2016 season. By September 2019 he had played 11 first-class matches and has scored 535 runs with the highest score of 155. He had also played 12 list A matches and had scored 257 runs at a strike rate of 96.25. In January 2020, in the 2019–20 Ranji Trophy match against
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
, Sarfaraz scored his maiden triple century in first-class cricket. In the 2022 season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Sarfaraz also began to don a new avatar as an occasional
wicket-keeper In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the Cricket player, player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop Delivery (cricket), deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the ...
. Although not a stranger to wicket-keeping in his junior playing days, this was his first time in senior cricket.


International career


2024: International debut

In 2024, Sarfaraz Khan earned his maiden Indian call-up due to injuries to
Ravindra Jadeja Ravindrasinh Anirudhsinh Jadeja (born 6 December 1988) is an Indian cricketer who represents the national team currently in ODI and Test formats. He is an all-rounder, who bats left-handed and bowls left-arm orthodox spin. Widely hailed as one ...
and KL Rahul in the first Test against
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in
Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
. On 15 February 2024, Sarfaraz Khan made his international debut in the third test against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in
Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...
. In his debut innings, Khan scored 62 runs off 66 balls and was run out on the non-strikers end after a mix-up with eventual centurion Ravindra Jadeja. His innings included 9 fours and a six. Khan's fifty came in 48 balls and was the joint-fastest 50 by an Indian cricketer on debut alongside Hardik Pandya's fifty which came against
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
in 2017. After the stumps on Day 1, Ravindra Jadeja shared a story on his Instagram account admitting his mistake and appreciating Khan's knock after the debutant got run out following the mix up with Jadeja. In the second innings of his debut test match Sarfaraz Khan scored 68 not out off 72 balls with a strike rate of 94.44. His innings included 6 fours and 3 sixes. With this knock Sarfaraz Khan became the fourth Indian cricketer to score twin fifties on Test debut joining the esteemed list with likes of
Dilawar Hussain Dilawar Hussain (19 March 1907 – 26 August 1967) was a Pakistani administrator and cricketer. He played for India national cricket team as a Test cricketer in the 1930s. Dilawar wicket-keeper, kept wicket for India in three Test cricket, T ...
,
Sunil Gavaskar Sunil Manohar "Sunny" Gavaskar (Marathi pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, uniːl ɡaːʋəskəɾ born 10 July 1949), is a former captain of the Indian national cricket team who represented India national cricket team, India and Mumbai crick ...
and Shreyas Iyer. Sarfaraz's strike rate (94.2) is by far the highest among the 43 batters with two fifty-plus scores on debut in men's Tests (where balls-faced data is available). Khan made a 158 run partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal for fifth wicket at a run rate of 6.53 per over, this is the highest run-rate for an Indian pair which has added 150 or more runs in a Test innings and seventh highest run rate for 150-plus balls in men's
Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
(where data is available). It became the highest and the longest partnership scored at more than run-a-ball for
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
in men's
Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
. The partnership helped
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
set target of 557 for
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in the 4th innings, the target set by
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
in
Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the ...
became the second highest for them in Test cricket behind the 617 against New Zealand in
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
in 2009. This eventually led
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
to register victory over England by 434 runs, which is the biggest win by runs for India in
Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
and the second biggest against
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
by any team, behind the 562-run win for
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
in 1934 at
The Oval The Oval, currently named for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club sinc ...
.


Controversies

In 2011, a school team accused him of being overage. Bone tests showed him to have an age of 15 but according to the birth date registered with the Mumbai Cricket Association he was 13 years old. Sarfaraz and his father went for a second, advanced test. This time the resulting age matched with the registered birth date. Sarfaraz himself was disturbed by this controversy and it affected his emotional health. It took him two to three months to get his focus back on cricket. In 2015, Sarfaraz made some offensive gestures to the selectors after leading Mumbai to a victory in the Under-19 championship semi-final. As a consequence, he was dropped from the team along with Suryakumar Yadav. His match fees for two years were withheld as an assurance for his good behaviour.


IPL career

After a good performance in the 2014 Under-19 World Cup, Sarfaraz was bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2015 for 5 million. At an age of 17, he is the youngest player to have ever participated in an IPL match. In his debut game against
Chennai Super Kings The Chennai Super Kings, also known as CSK, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The team was one of the eight debut franchises when the league was establ ...
, he scored 11 runs off 7 balls. With the trio of
Virat Kohli Virat Kohli (born 5 November 1988) is an Indian Cricket, international cricketer who plays One Day International, ODI cricket for the India national cricket team, national team and is a former Captain (cricket), captain in all formats. He is a ...
,
Chris Gayle Christopher Henry Gayle (born 21 September 1979) is a Jamaican cricket team, Jamaican cricketer who has played international cricket for the West Indies cricket team, West Indies from 1999 to 2021. Nicknamed "The Universe Boss", Gayle is wide ...
and
AB de Villiers Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (born 17 February 1984) is a South African former international cricketer. He is regarded as one of the greatest batters of his generation. de Villiers was named as the ODI Player of the Year three times during h ...
dominating in the next two matches he did not get a chance to bat. In the next match he outshone the trio of more established batsmen, scoring 45 runs off 21 balls against
Rajasthan Royals The Rajasthan Royals, also known as RR, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Founded in 2008 as one of the initial eight franchises, the team is owned by Manoj ...
. The innings included six fours and a six and helped RCB post a large total. Virat Kohli bowed down to him while he was walking back to the dressing room at the end of the innings. In total in the IPL season for 2015, he played 13 matches and scored 111 runs at a strike rate of 156.33. He started the 2016 season quickly when he played a cameo of 35 runs off 10 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the 19th over he attacked the bowling of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, the best bowler of the tournament and scored 4 fours and a six. His teammate Chris Gayle commented that "He's too young and he's like a son to me. He's definitely one for the future and one must keep an eye on him." He kept on having short, eventful innings in the 2016 season for RCB. Eventually he was dropped from the team due to his lack of fitness. In 2016 he ended up played 5 matches and scored 66 runs at a strike rate of 212.90. In the 2017 season he injured his leg during a training session and had to miss the entire season. In a surprising move, RCB retained Sarfaraz over the likes of
Chris Gayle Christopher Henry Gayle (born 21 September 1979) is a Jamaican cricket team, Jamaican cricketer who has played international cricket for the West Indies cricket team, West Indies from 1999 to 2021. Nicknamed "The Universe Boss", Gayle is wide ...
, K L Rahul, Kedar Jadhav and Yuzvendra Chahal for the 2018 season. Sarfaraz had a poor season and managed to score only 51 runs from six innings at a strike rate of 124.39. He was eventually released by RCB ahead of the 2019 season.
Punjab Kings The Punjab Kings, also known as PBKS, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in New Chandigarh, Punjab, that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burm ...
picked him up for the next season for just 2.5 million. Having his former RCB team-mates like K L Rahul, Chris Gayle and
Mandeep Singh Mandeep Singh (born 18 December 1991) is an Indian cricketer. He plays for Punjab cricket team (India), Punjab in the top-flight of Indian cricket. Ahead of India's 2023-24 domestic season, he moved to Tripura cricket team, Tripura. A right-ha ...
helped him through this transfer. He scored 180 runs from eight matches at an average of 45 and a highest score of 67 runs. In February 2022, he was bought by the
Delhi Capitals The Delhi Capitals, formerly the Delhi Daredevils, also known as DC, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Delhi that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by GMR Group and JSW Sports. Its home groun ...
in the
auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...
for the 2022 Indian Premier League tournament. In the absence of
Rishabh Pant Rishabh Pant (; born 4 October 1997) is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team as a wicket-keeper batter. He is currently the vice captain of Indian cricket team in the Test format. He captains and plays for th ...
at the
2023 Indian Premier League The 2023 Indian Premier League (also known as Tata IPL 2023 for sponsorship reasons and sometimes referred to as IPL 2023 or IPL 16) was the 16th season of the Indian Premier League, a franchise Twenty20 cricket league in India. It is organise ...
, Sarfaraz got the opportunity to play as a
wicket-keeper-batter In cricket, the wicket-keeper is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket, ready to stop deliveries that pass the batsman, and take a catch, stump the batsman out, or run out a batsman when occasion arises. The wicket-ke ...
for
Delhi Capitals The Delhi Capitals, formerly the Delhi Daredevils, also known as DC, are a professional Twenty20 cricket team based in Delhi that competes in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The franchise is owned by GMR Group and JSW Sports. Its home groun ...
but for only the first match. He played only 4 matches - the 1st as wicket-keeper batsman and 2nd, 7th and 8th match as a middle-order batsman. Sarfaraz's name has also been doing the rounds for some time as a future Team India
batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...
.


Personal life

On 6 August 2023, Khan married Romana Zahoor, who is from the Shopian District of Jammu and Kashmir.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Khan, Sarfaraz 1996 births Living people Indian Muslims Indian cricketers Mumbai cricketers Uttar Pradesh cricketers Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricketers Delhi Capitals cricketers Punjab Kings cricketers 21st-century Indian sportsmen India Test cricketers