Mumbai, Jan 28 (PTI) Sarfaraz Khan’s purple patch across formats is fuelling his fire to play alongside MS Dhoni at Chennai Super Kings, but somewhere between losing his confidence to rediscovering mojo, he says he has also learnt the lesson of not looking too far ahead.
Sarfaraz did not get a very long rope to prove himself in Tests and even though the door seem shut on him for now without adequate explanation, he says it is important to stay in the present.
“I try to stay in the present. I can’t do anything in the past. I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Sarfaraz told media here on Wednesday.
Back into the grind of domestic cricket where he had ruled the roost not very long ago, Sarfaraz appeared to have hit a lean patch when familiar big scores in red-ball cricket went missing.
However, he hung around, worked on his fitness and his game to find runs again, not only in red-ball cricket but also in white-ball formats.
In his last outing, Sarfaraz hit the milestone of 5,000 runs in First-Class cricket along with his fifth double ton in the Ranji Trophy clash against Hyderabad.
“All I know is that I’m going to go home. I’m going to bat at home. I’m going to spend time with my father. I’m going to sleep at the hotel and play the match tomorrow,” he told during Mumbai’s training session here ahead of their Ranji tie against Delhi.
“I don’t think about the future. All I know is that I’m going to do what I’ve been doing for years. I’m going to practice and I’m going to improve,” he said.
The 28-year-old also considers himself “very lucky” to have been roped in by CSK, where he’ll share the dressing room with the legendary Dhoni.
“I consider myself very lucky. I never thought I’d be able to play for CSK. My dream was to play with the legends of this generation,” he said.
“… Like Virat (Kohli) bhai, I played with him in RCB. I had never played with Rohit (Sharma) bhai and I never thought I’d get a chance to play with him. But then I played with him in the Test team.” “(And then) I never thought I’d get a chance to play with Mahi bhai when he left the Indian cricket team. But after going unsold (in auction), CSK took me to the IPL. I consider myself very lucky,” Sarfaraz said.
Sarfaraz has expanded his horizon as he now aims to play white-ball cricket for India.
“I’m just focusing on my hard work, batting freely and on power hitting. I’m not thinking about anything else. I want to play for India in white-ball cricket and I am paying attention to that,” he said.
Sarfaraz has been sharing the Mumbai dressing room with his younger brother Musheer, who is developing his all-round game across formats unlike the former who is a specialist batter.
Sarfaraz underlined the significance of having multiple skills.
“I’m also working with Musheer on his bowling and his batting. (One day) Musheer is going to be the captain of the Indian team,” Sarfaraz expressed.
While he has worked hard to lose considerable weight from the time he left the Indian dressing room, Sarfaraz said it’s not an easy task for Indian cricketers who have to go through fitness work and recovery process at Bengaluru’s Centre of Excellence.
“In NCA, it’s very tough. You’re alone there. The travelling (time to the venue) is also long. It’s a 40-45 minute journey from the city to the airport,” he said. PTI DDV BS BS
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