Persistence pays off. Sarfaraz Khan has returned to India’s Test side. Having made his first-class debut in 2014, it took the batter from Mumbai nearly a decade to represent India. Years of toiling hard and churning bucketloads of runs were finally awarded. He couldn’t score a hundred in his debut series against England but managed to hit half-centuries in 3 of his 5 innings.
Sarfaraz Khan: Hard work and his injury luck
Last month, he was selected for the Bangladesh Test series but couldn’t play a game. Injuries had brought him into the squad, and as soon as those players recovered, Sarfaraz got out. He earned a spot for the India vs New Zealand Test series as well, but the same fate was expected. He didn’t let it affect him and continued to do what he’d done for years. Score runs and help his team win matches.
In between the two series, Sarfaraz hit a glorious unbeaten double hundred in the Irani Cup. His knock helped Mumbai win the coveted trophy after 17 years. His hard work and determination paid off just like they did earlier in the year. And just like before, injury has helped him into the Indian Test team. Shubman Gill, India’s number three, is unavailable for the India vs New Zealand 1st Test in Bengaluru.
“Shubman Gill was unavailable for selection of the first Test due to a neck stiffness,” BCCI informed. Reports had suggested that Gill might miss the first Test, and that was confirmed to be true by captain Rohit Sharma, who announced Sarfaraz was coming into the team after winning the toss.
India’s Playing XI for 1st Test vs New Zealand
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
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