• Home
  • Cricket Analysis
  • 3 Reasons Why Sarfaraz Khan Is Perfect Fit In The Current Indian Test Playing Xi

3 Reasons Why Sarfaraz Khan Is Perfect Fit In The Current Indian Test Playing XI

Sarfaraz Khan during Irani Cup [Source: @_sidra_2/x.com]Sarfaraz Khan during Irani Cup [Source: @_sidra_2/x.com]

Mumbai is taking on the Rest of India in the Irani Cup 2024 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. While the young Indian batter Ruturaj Gaikwad is leading the Rest of India, Ajinkya Rahane is in charge of the 2023-24 Ranji Champions, Mumbai. 

Ahead of the game, Gaikwad won the toss and put Mumbai to bat. The bowlers of the Rest of India made a brilliant start, reducing Mumbai to 6/2. Very soon, the third wicket also fell, and Mumbai was struggling at 37/3 by the 12th over of the innings. After this, skipper Ajinkya Rahana and Shreyas Iyer stitched a partnership of 102 runs and stabilised the innings to some extent. However, when Shreyas Iyer left the crease, the match was in a balanced position, with Mumbai stationed at 139/4.

At this stage, the game could have drifted away from Mumbai if ROI had picked up a couple of quick wickets. However, Sarfraz Khan joined hands with Ajinkya Rahane and stitched a partnership of 131 runs, putting Mumbai in the driver's seat. Rahane was dismissed at a personal score of 97, but Sarfaraz continued with determination and brought up his century off just 149 deliveries. Playing under pressure with a positive intent, this innings makes him a great fit in the current Indian Test playing XI. Here are three reasons why - 

3. Aligning with India's new brand of cricket

During the second Test against Bangladesh, India scored over eight runs per over. This indicated that if necessary, the team would take on the bowlers and approach the game like a T20 match to get a positive result. 

Sarfaraz Khan is a naturally aggressive batter. His presence in the middle-order will give India the dynamism to stay ahead. Sarfaraz's strike rate of nearly 71 in first-class cricket proves he can rely on his aggressive brand of cricket irrespective of the game situation. If he gets a chance in the playing XI, he will play at number five or six; most of the time, Rishabh Pant might be batting alongside him. Pant and Sarfaraz are both naturally aggressive players, and this duo can be at the root of taking the game away from the opposition. 

2. All round technique

Sarfaraz Khan has shown in almost all levels of the game that he is equally adept in handling the spinners and the pacers. With his sweeps and reverse sweeps, Sarfaraz can handle the spinners effectively. Besides this, he has a wide range of shots and great skill in executing shots with both straight bat and horizontal bat, making him a great player of pace bowling. The young batter also has scoops and reverse scoops in his repertoire, making him a tough batter to bowl at. 

1. Ability to bat under pressure

Over the past three of four seasons, Sarfaraz Khan has been in a dream form. He has scored runs irrelevant to the playing conditions and match situations. During this time, the batter has shown that he is unfazed by pressure. Sarfaraz has also demonstrated a great knack for partnering with lower-order batters. These factors give the dynamism and freedom to the top-order batters to play their game freely. The presence of a dynamic and versatile player like Sarfaraz Khan in the middle order will allow top-order batters like Rohit, Jaiswal and Gill to bat more positively.