Right-handed batter Sarfaraz Khan is showing no signs of slowing down as he continues to break the door down in a bid to make the Test playing XI come the home season, beginning October 2 against the West Indies. Ignored for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England, Sarfaraz seems to have made it his mission to earn his place back in the playing XI. On Tuesday, the 27-year-old scored yet another century for Mumbai while playing against Haryana in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament.
Sarfaraz brought up his century in the final session of Day 1 of the contest between Haryana and Mumbai. The right-hander took just 99 balls to bring up the feat. He reached the landmark in style as he smashed Haryana’s Ishant Bharadwaj for a massive six.
Upon reaching the milestone, Sarfaraz removed his helmet, soaking in the applause from his non-striker and the rest of the Mumbai camp. Sarfaraz was eventually dismissed for 111 by Parth Vats.
It must be mentioned that Sarfaraz had kick-started the domestic season in style, smashing a ton in the Buchi Babu opener against TNCA XI. He eventually scored 138 not out, including ten fours and sixes at the Gojan College ground.
In both of his centuries, Sarfaraz has been at his aggressive best, playing his shots from ball No.1, not letting the opposition bowlers dictate terms and bowl according to their plans.
In his knock against Haryana, Sarfaraz was being bogged down by cramps. However, the youngster continued to bat on, eventually registering his century, sending a strong message to chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Both Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan failed to grab their opportunities in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England. Hence, there is an opening for the No.3 slot and one in the lower middle order. However, it needs to be seen whether the management rewards Sarfaraz with a place for the series against the West Indies.
Sarfaraz warms the bench in Australia
Sarfaraz was a part of India’s Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, where the side lost 1-3. However, the right-hander did not play a single match Down Under.
Last year, Sarfaraz had smashed 150 runs in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test against New Zealand. However, he just returned with 21 runs in the next four innings on spinning tracks in Pune and Mumbai.
Sarfaraz was a part of India A’s squad for the unofficial Tests against England Lions. In the first game, he scored 92; however he was dropped for the second game.
He has has played 11 Tests so far for India, scoring 371 runs at an average of 37.10.