Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan has received maiden Team India for the second Test of the five-match series against England on Monday, January 28. India and England will play their second Test at Vishakhapatnam on February 2.
Ahead of the second Test, Board Control of Cricket in India (BCC) announced that Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul have been ruled out of the Vizag test due to respective injuries. The board stated that Jadeja suffered a hamstring injury while Rahul complained of a right quadriceps pain during the 1st Test in Hyderabad.
This is a big blow for Team India as the hosts are currently without Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami. Kohli is likely to return from third Test onwards. The BCCI selection added Sarfaraz Khan, Saurabh Kumar and Washington Sunder to India squad ahead of second Test.
However, Sarfaraz Khan's name grabbed the eyeballs of many Indian cricket fans. The 26-year-old were often overlooked by selectors despite consistently performing well in domestic and first-class cricket over the last few years. Several former Indian cricketers voiced inclusion of Mumbai Indian in the Test squad.
Sarfaraz Khan was part of India A team for two unofficial Test matches against England Lions, wherein he scored 161, 4, and 55 in 3 innings. Still, he was not picked in the India Test squad against visiting England team.
However, Sarfaraz's long wait for his first national call-up came to an end after he was added to Test squad for the Vizag Test.
Fans excited after Sarfaraz Khan's maiden national call-up
Fans couldn't control their joy after Sarfaraz Khan got his maiden Team India call-up for the second Test against England. Many believe that it is a well-deserved call-up for Mumbai batter, given his incredible performance in Ranji Trophy over the last few years. Indian cricket fans took to Twitter to express their happiness and congratulates Sarfaraz Khan.
Here are some reactions from fans
Sarfaraz Khan's career in first-class cricket
Sarfaraz Khan first shot to fame when he shattered R Nagdev's highest individual score of an unbeaten 427 in Harris Shield, scoring 439 off 421 balls in 2009 when he was just 12 years old. His incredible innings consist of 56 fours and 12 sixes and batted at a strike rate of 104.28.
The 26-year-old made his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai against Bengal in 2014. Since then, he made rapid strides on domestic circuit. From 2015/16 to 2017/18 Ranji Trophy seasons, Sarfaraz Khan represented his native state Uttar Pradesh. By September 2019, he aggregated 535 runs in 11 matches in first-class matches.
In January 2020, Sarfaraz Khan registered his maiden triple century in a Ranji Trophy against Uttar Pradesh, scoring an unbeaten 301 off 390 balls. He became the 40th batter to score achieve this milestone in history of India's premier domestic tournament.
Sarfaraz Khan's best performance came in 2021/22 Ranji Trophy season, wherein he amassed 982 runs, including 4 centuries and 2 fifties, at an impressive average of 122.75 in nine innings.
Overall in first-class career, Sarfaraz Khan has aggregated 3912 runs, including 14 centuries and 12 fifties, at an average of 69.85 in 66 innings.
