IPL 2020: Was Hurt When RCB Released Me - Sarfaraz Khan

India’s young cricketer, Sarfaraz Khan has opened up on the time when he the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), released him in 2016. Notably, RCB captain Kohli wanted Sarfaraz to focus on his fitness. Now, the youngster has come to spotlight after his blistering triple century against Uttar Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy game.

Though Sarfaraz is only 22, he has had a very uncertain career so far. He started his first-class career playing for Mumbai, but it never took off the way it should have. He then went to Uttar Pradesh to play on green pitches but the results remained the same and he returned to his hometown Mumbai.

Interestingly, he is now in the news for scoring an outstanding triple ton against the UP.

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IPL 2020: Sarfaraz Khan Recalls The Moment:

Sarfaraz has now shed light on the time when he was dropped from RCB camp in 2016 due to fitness issues. However, he has worked quite a lot on his fitness and has improved it to great levels.

“I was dropped at Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2016 because of my fitness,” he said.

“Virat Kohli told me straightaway while there were no doubts over my skills, my fitness was not letting me get to the next level. He was very honest with me about where I was,” he added.

Apart from it, Sarfaraz has changed his diet and worked brilliantly on his fitness. He has undergone a lot of cardio training in the recent past.

“I knew that is when I had to get fitter. So I started working out, running, doing a lot of cardio. I gave up sweets and tried to improve my eating habits. I won’t say I became obsessed with fitness, but I just made small changes to my diet. If I had two portions of something, I changed it to one portion, and gradually cut down on my intake of junk food,” the right-hander said.

Sarfaraz Khan on his fitness:

“I felt good not just about my improved fitness but because it helped me score runs and get a lead. At one point, all my team-mates used to call me ‘panda’ because I used to eat a lot. Now, they’ve started calling me ‘macho’. Actually, very few people know it’s my nickname now,” Sarfaraz goes on to add.

The exciting batsman has been retained by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) after having one of his best seasons with the team.

Sarfaraz said that it was hard to let go of RCB. “Being released from RCB hurt me in a way, but I couldn’t do much about it. I had one of the best IPLs so far with Kings XI Punjab last year. I was in the midst of my cooling-off period, so I knew that was my only chance to impress,” he concluded.

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