The absence of Sarfaraz Khan's name in the Indian squad for their upcoming two-Test series in the West Indies created quite an extraordinary flutter in the Indian cricketing circles, especially considering the batter is yet to make his international debut at any level. While the biggest headline may have been veteran Cheteshwar Pujara getting the drop, Sarfaraz's absence has pretty much been just as much an issue with the likes of batting great Sunil Gavaskar effectively stating that India missed an opportunity by not letting players like him make a Test debut in a series against a side who are no longer the force they used to be.
While it may be perilous to write off an opposition side even before the start of a series, the recent history of bilaterals between India and the West Indies shows that there is some weightage to former players stating that this would have been a good chance to test youngsters. West Indies' last victory against in India in any Test series came back in 2002. Since then, India have won every series played between the two sides, regardless of whether it was played at home or in the Carribean.
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Sarfaraz's second Mumbai coming
He may only be 25 but Sarfaraz was already deemed as a lost cause not too long ago. He had moved to Uttar Pradesh to play for the state domestic team, away from his beloved Mumbai. The move hadn't reaped dividends. He smashed a scintillating 155 on his UP debut but didn't play for the side too often as the season clashed with his India U19 matches going into the 2016 World Cup. After two seasons with the team, he told his father and coach Naushad that he will now either play for Mumbai or leave cricket altogether, according to ESPNCricinfo. This led to him having to take a one-year cooling off period before confirming the move.
{{/usCountry}}He may only be 25 but Sarfaraz was already deemed as a lost cause not too long ago. He had moved to Uttar Pradesh to play for the state domestic team, away from his beloved Mumbai. The move hadn't reaped dividends. He smashed a scintillating 155 on his UP debut but didn't play for the side too often as the season clashed with his India U19 matches going into the 2016 World Cup. After two seasons with the team, he told his father and coach Naushad that he will now either play for Mumbai or leave cricket altogether, according to ESPNCricinfo. This led to him having to take a one-year cooling off period before confirming the move.
{{/usCountry}}To last in the experienced Mumbai lineup which often included the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Aditya Tare and Siddhesh Lad, Sarfaraz checked his attacking game and impressed with an unbeaten 71 against Karnataka in the second innings of a match in January 2020.
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The run flood
After that, came the runs. 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 3505 runs scored in 37 matches at an average of 79.65 and an impressive strike rate of 70.21. 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 is the second highest in the history of first class batters who have played at least 50 innings. The highest, of course, is the legendary Don Bradman himself, who maintained a mind bogging 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.