Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz Khan, part of a long list of child-prodigies from Mumbai, burst on to the scene as a 17-year old. Sarfaraz's cricketing journey began early under the tutelage of his father Naushad Khan, a former Mumbai cricketer and a respected coach who's responsible for nurturing talents like Iqbal Abdullah and Kamran Khan. Known for his quirky and innovative batting, Sarfaraz made his first-class debut in 2014 and was a part of the Indian Under-19 teams that played in the 2014 and 2016 World Cups.

Sarfaraz first made the world sit up and take notice when he scored a magnificent 439 in his maiden Harris Shield game in 2009. Aged just 12, he broke a Sachin Tendulkar record that had stood since 1988. It wasn't long before Sarfaraz was thrust into the Mumbai U19 side and his performances there led to him earning a place in India's U19 squad.

Batting in the middle-order, Sarfaraz scored 566 runs at a staggering average of 70.75 across the two U19 World Cups he played. His tally is only bettered by Eoin Morgan (606 runs) and Babar Azam (585 runs). He holds the unique record of most fifties in U19 Cricket World Cups having struck 7 of them across two editions.

His career, however, hasn't been free of controversy. Sarfaraz was suspended by the Mumbai Cricket Association for fudging his age before they eventually accepted the result of an advanced test. Soon after, he was dismissed from the MCA's indoor academy camp on disciplinary grounds. Sarfaraz's temperamental behaviour continued. His match fees for the 2014-15 season were withheld after he directed some rude gestures towards a group selectors at the end of an U19 game. It wasn't surprising then that after the 2014-15 season, Sarfaraz decided to leave Mumbai to switch allegiances to Uttar Pradesh.

Two rather uneventful seasons at Uttar Pradesh didn't further Sarfaraz's cause. He moved back to Mumbai for the 2019-20 season and that was his real coming of age. His batting in the following two seasons were nothing short of masterful. His numbers after two seasons back at home were jaw dropping and he became only the 3rd batter after Wasim Jaffer and Ajay Sharma to score 900-plus runs in two successive Ranji seasons. Starting as a chubby youngster, Sarfaraz's ordeals had seen him transform into a fearsome willow-wielding beast in domestic cricket. While opportunities to showcase his talent at a bigger stage have been thin, Sarfaraz has been doing everything he can on the field to break the door down and storm his way through to the next level.

In February 2024, Sarfaraz finally reaped the rewards for all his domestic runs and hard work, as he was picked for the Indian team and made his debut at Rajkot against England. Sarfaraz got back to back fifties in his maiden Test, looking at home with the step up to International cricket. He got his maiden Test hundred in October against New Zealand, but his form tapered for the rest of the series as India succumbed to a 3-0 home whitewash against the Kiwis. Sarfaraz has been part of the away series to Australia but failed to make the XI for the first Test.

IPL - Through the years

The youngest to feature in an IPL game, Sarfaraz Khan was roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 2015 auctions. He shot to fame with his unbeaten knock of 45 off 21 Rajasthan Royals. While walking back to the dressing room after playing that innings, RCB skipper Virat Kohli bowed in front of the 17-year-old - an unforgettable moment. Despite his cameos in 2016, he was dropped from the playing XI due to his lack of fitness. The following year, he missed the IPL as he suffered a leg injury. In a surprising move, RCB decided to retain him in 2018 ahead of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul, which raised plenty of eyebrows. Sarfaraz’s performance was well below par and that forced the RCB management to release him ahead of the 2019 season.

The pocket-sized dynamo was then snapped up by Kings XI Punjab to boost their lower-middle order. But his performances didn't do justice to his ability and he saw his stocks dip drastically. From being retained for INR 4 crore by RCB in 2018, Sarfaraz found himself being picked up for his base price of INR 20 lakh by the Delhi Capitals in the 2023 IPL Auction.