Sarfaraz Khan's dream came true on Thursday, February 15 when the batsman was awarded his debut cap for the ongoing third Test against England in Rajkot. Sarfaraz has long been knocking on the door for his selection, having amassed countless runs in the Ranji Trophy, India's first four-day red-ball tournament, over the years. Despite scoring runs for fun, Sarfaraz was often ignored by selectors. However, both Sarfaraz and his father Naushad Khan emphasized on following the process.
It was an emotional day for Sarfaraz's family as the batsman received his first Test cap from former India captain Anil Kumble.
With tears rolling down his eyes, Sarfaraz's father Naushad took his son's cap and kissed the badge on it.
Sarfaraz did not get a chance to bat in the first session on Day 1 as Ravindra Jadeja was promoted after India lost three early wickets.
Mark Wood struck twice on his return to the XI, while Tom Hartley also got his reward after Ben Stokes handed him the ball early in the session.
With Yashsvi Jaiswal (10), Shubman Gill (0) and Rajat Patidar (5) back in the hut, Jadeja was promoted.
As Sarfaraz's Ranji Trophy numbers appeared on the screen, former England spinner Graeme Swann and ex-India head coach Ravi Shastri heaped praise on the batsman.
“This kid has made a lot of runs, make no mistake. Look at that, an average of 154. Phew. Some of those numbers are absolutely crazy,” Swann said on air.
“He's been banging on the door for a while now, literally waiting for the selectors to look at those scores and give him the entry he got today,” Shastri quipped.
In the last four seasons in the Ranji Trophy, Sarfaraz has been on a rampage, scoring 2466 runs from 27 innings. He scored almost 1000 points in two of these four seasons: 928 in 2019/20 and another 982 in 2022/23.
Meanwhile, apart from Sarfaraz, wicketkeeper-batsman Dhruv Jurel also received his first Test cap from veteran cricketer Dinesh Karthik.
Both Sarfaraz and Jurel will be hoping to get some runs under their belts when the opportunity arises.
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