Australia secured an incredible fifth successive women's tournament victory in Dubai
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It was in the summer of 2015 that veteran Dubai cricket coach Gopal Jasapara was taken by surprise when he received a request from Naushad Khan.
A Mumbai-based cricket coach, Naushad’s elder son, Sarfaraz, had already broken scores of batting records in India’s age-group tournaments, including one set by Sachin Tendulkar.
By 2015, Sarfaraz had also played alongside Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle for the RCB team in the IPL.
So Jasapara had every reason to be surprised when Naushad sent him a message, asking him if there was room for his son in his academy team — G Force — featuring UAE youngsters on their UK tour.
“I first met this boy and his father in 2009 when he was only 12. This was after he broke Tendulkar’s record (with a knock of 439 in a school cricket match),” Jasapara recalled.
“So, Mr Naushad called Mr Shyam Bhatia (Dubai-based cricket promoter) as he wanted his son to gain some experience of playing in English conditions. Mr Bhatia asked him to get in touch with me. That’s how he joined our academy team on our 2015 UK tour.”
A lot has happened in the life of Sarfaraz since that 2015 UK tour with a Dubai academy team.
From being hailed as India’s next batting superstar to facing detractors who never missed a chance to make fun of his bulky physique, Sarfaraz was in constant battle with demons at every step of his journey.
But what never changed was his appetite for runs. He kept knocking on the selectors’ door with truckloads of runs in domestic cricket.
Eventually, that dream of playing for India was fulfilled early this year when he was called up for the England Test series at home.
Sarfaraz, whose brother Musheer is also a bright young talent, responded to the challenge of facing a top-class team with sparkling half-centuries in his debut Test match.
But he faced his biggest challenge in the first Test against New Zealand last week in Bangalore. Dismissed for a duck in India’s embarrassing first innings score of 46, Sarfaraz was under pressure when he walked in at 95 for two with India still trailing by 261 runs.
A false step there could have derailed the Test career of a player who would not have been in the playing XI if Shubman Gill was fit.
But Sarfaraz decided to throw caution to the wind, launching an astonishing counter-attack, displaying his full range of shots with a dash of cheeky and unconventional strokes.
That stunning knock of 150 may have failed to stop New Zealand from winning their first Test in 36 years on Indian soil, but it has given a big selection headache to the Indian team management.
The second Test, which starts on a rank-turner in Pune, might see Sarfaraz push KL Rahul out of the playing eleven.
Skipper Rohit Sharma will probably find it hard to overlook Sarfaraz, a proven player of spin bowling in domestic cricket who has an incredible ability to shift gears at a delicate stage of a match.
But it’s not just the talent that has made the 27-year-old such a formidable batter.
Jasapara says it’s his discipline and work ethic which could eventually help him take a giant leap in international cricket.
“He scored runs on that UK tour with our academy. But those runs were not important. His work ethic and discipline inspired a lot of our players in the academy,” Jasapara said.
"They initially wanted to be with us only for a few days, but then ended up staying with us for 15 days. Every day he used to face around 400 to 500 balls in net sessions.
"That level of dedication inspired our youngsters, and he showed great respect for the coaches in our academy."
If Sarfaraz gets the nod on Thursday to face the Kiwi bowlers, he will back himself to help India bounce back from the first Test defeat and keep the team’s hopes of reaching the World Test Championships final alive.
“As a player, he has what it takes to become a big star for India. But he is not going to change as a person because of his upbringing. His father once told me that as a family they are very rooted in their culture and tradition,” Jasapara said.
Naushad, and his sons, Sarfaraz and Musheer, 19, even had to sleep on railway platforms as they travelled from one place to another for the age-group tournaments.
“Naushad has made a lot of sacrifices for them. That’s why both his sons are very grounded," Jasapara said.
"And they have got a lot of respect for people who have been part of this journey.”
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