Sarfaraz and Musheer, Mumbai cricket’s family business
Hard-hitting batter Sarfaraz Khan is already set in the Mumbai Ranji team while younger will also be in the squad for the knockouts starting on June 6.
Naushad Khan is a happy father. Sons Sarfaraz and Musheer have achieved a distinction—the siblings have been selected to the Mumbai Ranji Trophy team and could be playing together.
On Monday, 18-year-old Musheer, a top-order batter and left-arm spinner, was picked along with his hard-hitting elder brother in the Mumbai squad for the Ranji knockouts to be held in Bengaluru from June 6. Mumbai play Uttarakhand in the quarter-finals.
Sarfaraz has been the mainstay of Mumbai’s batting line-up for the last two seasons. In three league matches this edition, he has scored 551 runs with two hundreds and a fifty, including 275 against Saurashtra, averaging 137.73. In the 2019-20 First-Class season, he amassed 926 runs in six matches, averaging 154.66. Rewarded with India 'A' selection for the South Africa tour, he hit 71* in the first match at Bloemfontein.
It has been a breakthrough season for Musheer too. He was skipper of the Mumbai U-19 team that reached the Cooch Behar Trophy final. He scored 670 runs and took 32 wickets in nine matches.
He was also selected for the Mumbai U-25 team, scoring 401 runs in three matches with a double century against Manipur. He also performed well for Payyade SC team in local tournaments.
The family is elated with Musheer’s selection. While he in NCA’s zonal camp in Surat, Naushad is preparing Sarfaraz for the knockouts. After playing white-ball cricket for almost two months, Sarfaraz wants to sharpen his red-ball game.
Father and son have followed the same drill for many years. Practice at the Karnataka SA nets at Cross Maidan in the morning, followed by training at the Mumbai nets (or playing local matches). Rest in the afternoon after lunch will be followed by batting session, on an artificial turf that Naushad has laid outside his house in Kurla, or at the Islam Gymkhana. Both sons have followed a routine that starts at five in the morning.
It is this hard practice that has brought the Khans success. The makeshift facility in Kurla has helped Sarfaraz get better at playing fast bowling. Musheer is a good player of seam and spin.
“I’m very happy for him but abbu (daddy) is very excited. Two people making it to the Mumbai Ranji team form the same household is not easy. The entire credit goes to abbu. He has worked hard on us. Musheer too is very excited to join the Ranji team. It’s good he is in the NCA camp. The later he joins the Mumbai camp, the better. He won’t become lax, it will keep him hungry,” says Sarfaraz, who has just faced around 300 balls and looks exhausted as he settles down to speak about his brother.
He hasn’t taken a break after leaving the Delhi Capitals bubble, straightaway joining the Mumbai nets.
“The summer has been harsh. Every part of my body is aching, but I don’t mind. I’m used to this drill now. I make it so difficult for myself during practice that when I go out to bat, I shouldn’t feel that I’m not prepared. It’s tough to do it from morning to evening.”
“It is just the beginning for Musheer,” says Naushad. “He used to go as a net bowler to Ranji practice sessions. He is very kicked to see his name with stalwarts in the team.”
Sarfaraz says he treats Musheer more as a friend. “I teach him as much as I can. I also learn from him. His footwork is very good. I keep watching him, how he bats, especially when things are not working for me as our techniques are very similar,” says Sarfaraz.
The brothers have been in the news together since their early days in the game. Sarfaraz made his Kanga League debut as a 10-year-old. And when he was 12, he broke the record for the highest score in the Harris Shield inter-school event, scoring 439 for Rizvi Springfield.
In September 2013, an eight-year-old Musheer became the youngest to play in the Kanga League. He then shone for Anjuman-I-Islam in inter-school tournaments before breaking into the Mumbai junior squad.
“We both want to play for India and make our father happy. It’s just the first step. I still have a long way to go and a lot to achieve,” says Musheer.
Musheer is allowed to carry a mobile only when on tour. Naushad says he wants him to focus on practice and rest so that he recovers for the next session.
“If he uses his mobile during rest time, his body won’t recover. As he is an all-rounder, his time needs to be managed well. The life of a sportsman is like an army commando. In a very short time you have to do a lot of things,” says Naushad.
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