It was my dream to play for India in front of my father - Sarfaraz Khan

India batter Sarfaraz Khan opened up about his maiden outing for Team India in the ongoing third Test against England in Rajkot. He said that it was his dream to play in front of his father for the national team as he started training when he was 6 years old.

All the years of hard work finally paid off for Sarfaraz Khan when he was handed the India Test cap on Thursday (15th February). The batter made sure that he made his debut special as he played a whirlwind inning and made many stand and applaud him.

Sarfaraz Khan looked solid right from the start he came to bat and played some crisp shots. In front of his parents, he slammed a vital half-century and helped his team get in a solid position on Day 1 of the third game at Rajkot.

Sarfaraz Khan played spin extremely well and looked settled at the crease. He didn’t put a foot wrong but unfortunately got run out as a mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja saw him back in the hut. He ended with innings of 62 runs off 66 balls and also hit 9 boundaries and 1 six in his innings.

Sarfaraz Khan spoke about his excitement while playing for India. He revealed that he was padded up for four hours and was nervous as well when he went out to bat. Speaking to reporters, he explained:

“Coming to the ground for the first time and getting the cap in front of my father. I was six-years-old when he started my cricket (training). It was my dream to play for the Indian team in front of him.

“I was padded up for almost four hours (in the dressing room). I kept thinking that I have kept so much patience in life and there is no harm in keeping some more. After I went in, I was nervous for the first few balls but I have practiced and worked so hard that everything went well.”

I was happy playing for India in front of my father – Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz Khan further talked about his father’s dream to play for India, saying that he couldn’t play due to some reasons but he worked equally hard on him. He said that it was the proudest moment of his life to play in front of his father.

Further talked about his father, he explained:

“It was my father’s dream to play for India but unfortunately it couldn’t happen due to some reasons, there wasn’t much support from home then. He worked very hard on me and is now doing the same with my brother. It was the proudest moment of my life. Runs and performances were not on my mind as much as I was happy playing for India in front of my father.

“He was not ready to come (to Rajkot) but some people insisted that he goes. Obviously he had to come over since he worked so hard only for this day. He was very emotional as I took the cap in front of him and so was my wife. I felt as if some pressure was off my shoulders given the hard work he had put in on me and I did not waste it.”

Sarfaraz Khan now would be hoping to go to his ton in the second innings. With his half-century, he made a statement that he was there to stay.