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Sarfaraz Khan gets married in Kashmir, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel lead cricketers' wishes for Mumbai star - See pics
Mumbai and Delhi Capitals star Sarfaraz Khan has married a girl from Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mumbai star Sarfaraz Khan has got married in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district. Several videos and photos surfaced on social media on Sunday of the batter in his wedding attire at his in-laws' place and Sarfraz himself posted a photo of the newly wed couple on his Instagram handle.
“Alhamdulillah married,” said Sarfaraz in his post. In the images that are doing the rounds of social media, Sarfaraz can be seen wearing a black sherwani and in various stages of the ceremony. He also spoke to a local outlet. “The Almighty had decided that it was my destiny to get married in Kashmir. I have received a lot of love here and whenever I have time I will visit here,” he said.
When asked about him being snubbed for India selection despite his performances in domestic cricket, Sarfaraz said: “The Almighty had written that I would get married here. In the same way if He has written that I will play for India, I will.”
Here are some of the pics of the wedding on social media
A number of cricketers congratulated him in replies to his Instagram post. This includes India stars Axar Patel, Umran Malik and Suryakumar Yadav. It was under Suryakumar's captaincy that Sarfaraz had made his debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy in December 2014.
Sarfaraz not making his Test debut has been among the hottest topics for debate in Indian cricket in recent months. While he is yet to impress in the T20 format playing for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, Sarfaraz has been among the most prolific batters in the domestic first class circuit for the past four years. He scored 556 runs in six games at an average of 92.66 in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy campaign with the help of three centuries. In the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy season, he had 982 runs at an average of 122.75.
The BCCI selectors had come under significant criticism for not selecting Sarfaraz in India's recent two-Test series in the West Indies. "Sarfaraz Khan has been scoring at an average of 100 in all past three seasons. What does he have to do to be picked in the squad? He might not be in the XI, but you pick him in the team. Tell him that his performances are being recognized. Otherwise, stop playing Ranji Trophy. Say, it’s of no use, you just play IPL and think you are good enough for the red ball game as well," former India captain and batting great Sunil Gavaskar had said.
Sarfaraz had a shaky start to his first class career, even leaving Mumbai for Uttar Pradesh in a move that reaped slim dividends. However, he has been on a roll since his return to Mumbai in in the 2019/20 season. In that season (2019/20), he made scores of 301, 226 not out, 78 and 177 and ended up piling on 928 runs for a whopping average of nearly 155. Next season (2021/22), Sarfaraz amassed 982 runs in just nine innings at an average of 122.75. In the Ranji season that went by, Sarfaraz scored 556 runs in six innings at an average of 92.66.
Sarfaraz's first class figures currently stand at 3559 runs scored in 39 matches at an average of 74.14 and an impressive strike rate of 69.59. He has scored 13 centuries and nine half centuries. This is where the headline catching statistic of him being the best since Bradman comes - Sarfaraz's average at the end of the last domestic season was the second highest in the history of first class batters who have played at least 50 innings. The highest is the legendary Don Bradman, who maintained a mind boggling average of 95.14 across 338 innings, scoring 28,067 runs with 117 centuries and 69 half centuries. The players ranked below Sarfaraz include the likes of Vijay Merchant, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Steve Smith and Martin Crowe among other greats of the game.
