For reasons out of his control, Sarfaraz Khan has had a pretty frustrating 2025, a year in which he would have expected himself to take the next big step in his cricket career.
To turn matters from bad to worse, he hasn’t had the best go of it after being given the opportunity to prove his case with the start of the Ranji Trophy season, only scratching together 95 runs in Mumbai’s first three matches of the fresh campaign.
After seeing himself snubbed not only from India’s senior Test side on the tour of England and for the series against the West Indies, the batter was also not included in the India A team for the ongoing series against South Africa. The immense promise Sarfaraz Khan showed after earning a Test debut in 2024, a year which saw him score three fifties and a century, ultimately hit something of a dead end.
To make matters worse, a couple of injuries saw him out of action, and although he returned having lost weight as many critics demanded, the domestic season has seen an atypical start from a player who averages 63 in First Class cricket. Despite this rough patch, Sarfaraz will have the boost of knowing his Mumbai teammates have his back, with Siddhesh Lad speaking on the eve of Mumbai’s next fixture against Himachal Pradesh and throwing his support behind the batter.
“At the end of the day, he is a human being and everyone makes some mistakes,” explained Lad. “There is always that (rough) patch for big players. If we look at the last 4-5 years, he has consistently scored runs.”
‘Up to us as a team and staff…’
Sarfaraz earned a call-up after a mountain of runs scored in recent domestic seasons, and while his 37 average in Test cricket after six matches is a little disappointing, it doesn’t speak to his ability against the red ball. However, in a time where he was expected to earn more chances, those have dried up. Lad accepted this can be difficult for players, and vowed his teammates would be committed to keeping his chin up.
“Somewhere, it could be demotivating as a player but at this time, it is up to us as a team and support staff as to how do we lift him up? We know his potential and if he plays (well), he will play big innings. As a team, we will try to lift his confidence in any way we can,” Lad said, backing the batter to find his footing in this domestic season and play himself back into consideration for the Indian team under Shubman Gill.