Imam-ul-Haq reacts to Sarfaraz Khan's maiden India call up from Pakistan, no other player apart from SKY wishes him

The wait for a national team call-up finally ends for Sarfaraz Khan on Monday (January 29). He got his maiden India call-up in the ongoing five-match Test series against England. The right-handed batter has accumulated ample runs in domestic cricket over the past few years. With KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja ruled out of the second Test, the Ajit Agarkar-headed selection committee called Sarfaraz Khan, Sourabh Kumar, and Washington Sundar as replacement players.

The second Test of the five-match Test series between India and England is scheduled to commence on February 2 at the Dr.Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam. It is expected that among Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, and Rajat Patidar, one will be making a debut whereas Washington Sundar or Kuldeep Yadav will play in place of Ravindra Jadeja. Sourabh Kumar can also make a debut as he is also a spin-bowling all-rounder.

Sarfaraz Khan was waiting for the national team call-up for over a year and finally, he got included in the squad for the second Test between India and England. He first came in contention for the Indian team when he amassed 928 runs in the 2019/20 Ranji Trophy season. Sarfaraz since then has been a prodigy in domestic cricket and has been knocking on the doors of the national team for a long time.

Witnessing Sarfaraz Khan getting his India call-up, the social media showered their praises and congratulated the batter. Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq congratulated Sarfaraz Khan for his India call-up. He took to ‘X’ to congratulate the right-handed batter for his long-awaited national team call-up and said, “Congratulations brother So Happy for you.”

Watch- Imam-ul-Haq Congratulates Sarfaraz Khan For India Call-Up

Congratulations brother So Happy for you ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/TDmKXMZYjj

— Imam Ul Haq (@ImamUlHaq12) January 29, 2024

Sarfaraz Khan was at his best during the 2021/22 Ranji season where he finished the season, being the top-scorer with 982 runs in just six matches at an average of 122.75 and smashed four centuries in nine innings which included a 275 against Saurashtra. He amassed 556 runs in nine innings which included three centuries in the next season.

Sarfaraz Khan also played for India A during this period and looked set to earn his maiden call-up for the Bangladesh tour in 2022. Ignored for the series, Sarfaraz was expected to be handed a call-up for the home series against Australia but was ignored again. He scored a century in the intra-squad practice match ahead of the Test series between India and South Africa but was ignored again.

Sarfaraz Khan continued to perform for India A and finally got rewarded with his maiden India call-up. He and Rajat Patidar will compete for a spot in the playing XI in the second Test match. Sourabh, who has also been called up, is uncapped and could finally make his Test debut. He earned his maiden India call-up in 2022 but is yet to play a Test match. Sundar is capped in all formats.

The second Test match of the five-match series between India and England will be played in Vizag from February 2 to 6. The Ben Stokes-led side won the first Test by 28 runs and leads the series 1-0. India has not lost a home Test series since 2012 and they hope to make a comeback in the second Test match. They lost the first match in Chennai during the 2021 Test series against England but then went on to win three straight Tests to win the series.