Michael Vaughan and Dinesh Karthik deliver a jaw dropping verdict on Sarfaraz Khan's future in international cricket

Sarfaraz Khan impressed everyone with his debut innings in Test cricket as he scored a quickfire 62 of 66 deliveries. He was included in the squad during the second Test but didn’t get the opportunity to play the game as Rajat Patidar was preferred over him to replace KL Rahul in the squad. Now with Shreyas Iyer being ruled out of the series, Sarfaraz Khan received his debut cap and was brilliant in his first innings.

Former England skipper Michael Vaughan and former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik have praised the 26-year-old batter for his brilliant performance and Vaughan has said that even after the likes of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul making their comeback, Sarfaraz Khan will be seen in the future, playing for India.

He praised Sarfaraz Khan’s ability to cope with the pace of Mark Wood and his versatility against spin also mentioning that England missed a trick by not introducing Tom Hartley early on as sweeping against the spin might have gotten a top-edge.

“You are never sure how a player is going to react to the pressure of international cricket. Mark Wood is bouncing you around; you don’t get bowlers bowling at 90 miles per hour in the Ranji Trophy. He coped with that well. His method against spin was tremendous. He sweeps well, dances down the wicket at the right time, plays with the backfoot, and rotates around the gaps.

I think England missed a trick. Tom Heartly should have come on sooner. Sweeping against the spin would have been a potential top-edge chance for England. He is a wonderful young player, and we are going to see a lot of him. I know KL Rahul and Virat Kohli will come back in, but I think Sarfaraz is a player we will see a lot more of in the future,” said Michael Vaughan to Cricbuzz.

Dinesh Karthik talks about Sarfaraz Khan’s Bradmanesque records in domestic cricket

“He is a very interesting case study. When he came to the RCB team many years ago, he just burst onto the scene. For some strange reason, things did not work out for him in T20 cricket. But my god, in four-day cricket, he has been relentless.”

“He started playing for UP; he is a Mumbai boy who started playing for UP but then moved back. The runs he has scored for Mumbai have been Don Bradmanesque. During COVID, he was averaging in the 80’s; in fact, his average has dropped to 70. That is staggering,” said Karthik to Cricbuzz.

Sarfaraz Khan and Ravindra Jadeja had a partnership of 77 runs for the fifth wicket and out of those 77 runs, Sarfaraz Khan scored 62. He has amassed 3912 runs in domestic cricket at an average of 69.85 which includes 14 centuries and 11 half-centuries which shows his consistency. He has been banging on the selectors’ doors for a long time now and has finally broken the door to make his way to the national side and put up an impressive show for India in his first Test.

India and England are facing each other in the third Test of the five-match series at the Niranjan Shah Cricket Stadium in Rajkot. The Test series is currently levelled at 1-1 and this game is an opportunity for both sides to take a lead in this series.

The first Test was won by England in Hyderabad who defeated India by 28 runs and then India made a sensational comeback by winning the second Test by a huge margin of 106 runs. The hosts have not lost a Test series in India since 2012 and would like to continue with their winning ways in home Tests by defeating England.