Sarfaraz Khan expressed his excitement about having the great Virat Kohli in the Indian team’s changing room before the two Test series against Bangladesh begin on Thursday, September 19, at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Although Sarfaraz and Kohli have previously shared a dressing room while Sarfaraz was a player for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), his goal is to do the same for the Men in Blue. Due to personal circumstances, Kohli was unable to play in the Mumbai batter’s inaugural international series against England earlier this year. They are both included in the side for the opening Test against Bangladesh, though.
Intriguingly, Sarfaraz revealed that, prior to a game, Kohli estimates the number of runs he would score off each opposition bowler and breaks it down for his teammates as well. The young player praised Kohli’s leadership qualities and capacity to keep the team cohesive.
“He has an unrivalled spirit and passion. He would always take the lead and break out for everyone how many runs he would score off a specific bowler whenever I saw him, even in the pre-match meetings. Sarfaraz told JioCinema, “It takes a very special kind of courage to stand up and speak so positively in front of everyone, and then to deliver the next day.”
“I first encountered him at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. He bowed to me after I had scored 45 runs in 21 balls here. That was a really wonderful day for me. Sharing a locker room with him in an Indian squad was a fantasy that would come true if I ever got the chance,” he continued.
What was Sarfaraz Khan’s performance in his first series?
In February, Sarfaraz made his debut for India at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium during the third Test match against England. Before being unfortunate run out in the first innings, he scored an impressive 62 from 66 balls. In the second innings, the right-handed batsman followed it up with an undefeated 68 off 72 balls, but India won by a historic 434 runs.
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In the fourth Test in Ranchi, Sarfaraz scored 14 and 0, but in the fifth Test in Dharamsala, he recovered with a 56 from 60 balls in India’s lone innings. Given that India will be playing ten Test matches in the coming months, the Mumbai native will be looking to improve on his outstanding debut performance.
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