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MUMBAI: Sarfaraz Khan is eagerly looking forward to playing his first match for India A in England. It is going to be a perfect platform for the batter to showcase the kind of preparation he has done for the upcoming five-Test series in England.
Sarfaraz Khan has been picked for India A tour of England beginning next month. (HT)
Under the guidance of his father-coach, Naushad Khan, the Mumbai batter has left no stone unturned in his bid to prove that he has the game to perform in all conditions, and not just on home tracks.
Apart from going through long hours of batting drills, he has worked extra hard on fitness over the last two months. He has switched to a strict diet plan, and the benefits were evident when he came for the T20 Mumbai League auctions as the icon player of the Aakash Tigers Mumbai Western Suburbs along with Suryakumar Yadav. His leaner look earned compliments from everyone.
“Looking at Sarfaraz, I am also following him. We have stopped making rice and rotis at home. It’s mainly grilled chicken, grilled fish, boiled eggs, vegetables like broccoli, avocado, etc. Sarfaraz has shed nine kg in the last one-and-a-half months. I have also benefitted by losing around 12 kg,” said Naushad, a former Western Railway cricketer.
While the rest of the Indian cricketers’ form and progress can be tracked in the Indian Premier League, Sarfaraz, who is not playing in the T20 league, has made use of the time by preparing hard for red-ball cricket.
The regulars at the Cross Maidan see the father and sons slog it out every morning at the Karnataka Sporting Association pitch. The matches he was waiting for is here after being included in the Abhimanyu Easwaran-led India A squad for the tour of England starting on May 30. India A are scheduled to play two games against England Lions (May 30-June 2 in Canterbury and June 6-9 in Northampton) and one intra-squad match against the India Test squad (June 13-16 in Beckenham).
How Sarfaraz fares in the matches is important to win back his place in the Test eleven. The England players know Sarfaraz’s potential. He made his debut against them at home last year, making a mark with three half-centuries in five innings to aggregate 200 runs at an average of 50. In his nascent six-Test career, Sarfaraz also smashed 150 against New Zealand in the first Test late last year, on a challenging Bengaluru pitch where India were shot out for 46 in their first innings. But low scores in the last two Tests – India lost 0-3 to New Zealand – saw him lose his place in the playing XI for the series in Australia.
The English conditions throw up a different challenge with the ball moving around all day. Determined to do well there, his training is specifically tuned to address that.
“He is practising with the red ball on green tops, playing around 300 balls each session, in the morning and in the evening,” Naushad said.
The Khans’ routine begins with Naushad waking up at 4.30 am and his sons up 5 am. By 6.30, they are at the Cross Maidan. As Naushad sets up the net, Sarfaraz does his running, stretching and fielding practice. Once the sunlight is good, they start the batting nets.
“Sarfaraz does two-and-a-half hours of batting against a set of six-seven bowlers, including two-three right-arm pacers, a left-arm pacer, off-spinner, leg-arm spinner. We use a dark shiny ball, similar to the Dukes cricket ball. We know the ball will move all day long, the ball will not get old early (in England),” said Naushad.
In the evenings, the days he doesn’t have a gym session, Sarfaraz bat at the nets installed in their society complex. “We pour water on the Astroturf pitch. It is to play the swing ball (synthetic). The ball comes on rapidly on a wet wicket.”
The practice is focused on leaving the ball, to know where the off-stump is, on ducking, leaving and the drives.
“He is doing fitness and fielding also. Every week there are gym and swimming sessions at BKC club (Sharad Pawar Indoor Academy). Monday is dedicated to fielding, high catches, slip catches, close-in fielding,” said Naushad.
Looking at past series in England, it had been a challenge for most Indian batters to adapt to the conditions. For those who did well, specific preparation was the key. Sarfaraz has done the preparation. Now, it’s about putting it to practice.
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