Sarfaraz Khan crucially conveyed that in October 2023, he resolved to enhance his fitness during the off-season before India’s domestic season commencing with the Duleep Trophy on September 5. The 26-year-old is among Team B in the four-team tournament where each team plays other teams once.
This year saw Sarfaraz make his Test debut for India on home soil against England, having dominated domestic cricket for several years. But he was not signed by any IPL franchise, which left him with an off-season that seemed never ending.
In an interview with Indian Express, he stated: “There is nothing called off-season for me. I would wake up by 4.15 am and by 4.30 am, I will start the day with long-distance running. It was very helpful to improve my fitness because, by the end of the month, I was able to run 5 km in 30-31 minutes.”
He added: “It was my priority and we (his father Naushad and him) put a plan in place. So once I’m done with my running, I would hit the gym. So the first half of the day was allotted for fitness and fielding drills. The batting part would begin in the evening.”
Sarfaraz is now a member of the Mumbai squad for the Buchi Babu tournament, which began today (August 15).
“This isn’t the time to rest”- Sarfaraz Khan
A dream come true 💫💫
Alhamdulillah 🤲😊 pic.twitter.com/BwNsEjzWHG— sarfaraz khan (@sarfarazkhan977) February 15, 2024
As with Sarfaraz Khan, who made his debut for India in the series against England Test matches held earlier this year; his father pointed out that it’s also like a dream coming true to him. Nevertheless, the urge of wanting to last longer on the international stage was clear on this lad’s face as Mumbai batsman refused to take it easy.
“My father and I had a dream. It was to play for India and I was able to achieve it against England. But it shouldn’t be the end. Now, I’ve to prolong that dream as long as I can and for that, I have to do a lot of hard work. This isn’t the time to rest. If anything, I’ve to work harder,” said Sarfaraz.
He chose not to focus too much on the upcoming Bangladesh Test series and instead concentrated on playing as many matches as possible to maintain his rhythm.
“I’m not looking at the Bangladesh series. But I’ve to follow the process and be ready. This (playing matches) is very important for me. I’ve not had this level of practice in Mumbai because of the rains. You are just facing a bowling machine, side-arm throwers or sometimes bowlers in indoor facilities,” Sarfaraz added.
Sarfaraz had a wonderful beginning to his Team India career, making fifty in both innings when he made his debut against England during a third Test. He then went on to achieve another fifty in the last match of that series and contributed significantly to the overall scoreline of 4-1 in favour of India.
The upcoming series for India will include two Tests against Bangladesh at home, commencing on September 19.
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