E-Paper
Sign in
Sarfaraz Khan breaks silence on poor form in Ranji after being overlooked for India squad: ‘Not frustrated at all…’
Sarfaraz Khan remains unfazed by his recent form, emphasizing his past successes and the importance of team unity.
Most domestic batters dream of one 1000-run Ranji season in their entire career. Sarfaraz Khan looks at that milestone and shrugs. For him, it’s just a line on a much bigger scorecard - one he feels gives him enough credit to ride out a brief dip without losing sleep.
So when questions about his current poor form came his way at the Wankhede on the eve of Mumbai’s next clash against Pondicherry, Sarfaraz didn’t sound rattled. He sounded amused, almost defiant, leaning on four years of production, and there was a clear message from him: judge me by the body of work, not by two or three innings.
Sarfaraz aims for the Rani Trophy
“You can’t score runs in every match. I scored so many runs in the last four seasons. Sometimes, you go through a period when you lose your wicket despite playing well. Everyone in our team is scoring runs, taking wickets, and doing well. The important thing is that we’ve to win the Ranji Trophy,” Sarfaraz Khan told the reporters at the Wankhede Stadium.
He was asked if he is frustrated about his current lack of big scores. While answering the question, the right-handed batter looked confident and defiant. “I’m not frustrated at all. If you see my record, I’ve scored lots of runs. People enjoy a 1000-run season once in four years...in the last four-five years maine daba ke runs banaye hain,” he said. It’s just that I haven’t scored too many runs in two-three matches. That doesn’t make a difference.”
There is no sense of overthinking, no talk of technical surgery. “I don’t think that I need to change anything, because I’m doing good. I’m just trying to do what I’ve always done - practice hard,” he added.
Also Read: Full list of released, retained, traded players in IPL: KKR have INR 64.3 crore; CSK and MI dump 12 players each
Sarafaraz talks about the dressing room environment of Mumbai
The conversation quickly moved from his own runs to the environment around him. Sarfaraz stressed how tight the Mumbai group has become since his return from India duty. “I wasn’t playing for Mumbai in the past two years as I was in the Indian team. Our team is very united. We train together. Even though we play in Mumbai, we stay in a hotel together, rather than in our homes.”
At the heart of that dressing-room culture, he believes, is captain Shardul Thakur. “We’ve a very good captain. Shardul bhai is doing a great job. I’m very happy that Mumbai got a captain like Shardul, who is selfless and keeps the team before himself...He prioritises the Mumbai team over his personal goals....I’ve noticed that difference in him. He prioritises Mumbai cricket over himself.”
“At the back of your mind, you want to take more opportunities, do well, and play at a higher level. However, Shardul doesn’t think like that. The Mumbai team comes first for him,” Sarfaraz said.
As Mumbai return to Wankhede, the batter is banking on that culture and his own record to do the talking. “We are playing at the Wankhede after a long time, so I’m feeling good. It’s a nice green top wicket... Our team is playing very well...We plan to continue this momentum,” he said.
