Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh): Elegant right-hand Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan reflected on his maiden India call-up, saying that having self-belief and patience was the key for him to earn his place in the national squad for the Test series against England.
Despite the series of impressive performances in the domestic circuit for the last two years, Sarfaraz was not selected for the national squad. But, injuries to wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and unavailability of batter Virat Kohli, paved the way for Sarfaraz Khan.
"The game is all about patience. If we have to play Test cricket, we have to be patient. In life, there are times when we rush ourselves. I got emotional while waiting for my opportunity to represent my country at the highest level. I feel having self-belief and patience are very important," 26-year-old Sarfaraz said in a video shared by BCCI on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"After the call-up, it does feel that the hard work has finally paid off. I had dreamt that my India A teammates were congratulating me. It was a recurring dream that I was playing for India and scoring runs. And as they say, whatever happens, happens for a reason. It will be a dream come true moment for me whenever I play for India,” added Sarfaraz.
He is more happy for his father Naushad than himself because of the effort he has taken for him and his guidance throughout his journey so far.
The batter also mentioned that his father used to motivate him when he was struggling to find his place in India’s squad.
"Everybody knows that my father has been my coach to date. My only dream has been to fulfill his desire. Securing a place in the national squad of a country that boasts such a huge population of over 125 crore people and it's a proud feeling to be a part of the Indian team. But I am more happy for my father. My father always tells me that you keep working hard and be unstoppable,” added Sarfaraz, who has scored 3,912 runs in first-class cricket.
"I was getting ready to play in the Ranji Trophy. I had kept my India A bag packed and was packing a Ranji Trophy bag and I suddenly got a call and got to know that I had been selected (for the national team). I didn't believe it in the beginning. My father was at our native place, I called him to give him this news and he also got emotional."
- " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="">
Read More
