Sarfaraz Khan may not have had the kind of start he would have wished for to the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy campaign, but the 28-year-old is not letting the lack of runs get to him.
A day before Mumbai’s final Group D match against Puducherry at Wankhede Stadium, before the start of the white-ball leg, the right-hander said he had made a truckload of runs in the last 4-5 years and so, had nothing to feel frustrated about.
The batter has made scores of 16, 15, 5 not out, 1, 42 and 32 so far this season and has another opportunity to score big on Sunday.
“There is no frustration at all. If you look at my record, I have made a lot of runs, and I have kept scoring runs. Some players make 1000 runs once every four seasons. I have scored heavily in the last 4-5 seasons. We don’t make runs in every match,” he told the media on Saturday.
Sarfaraz admitted that despite the lack of scores, he was getting support from his teammates and praised newly-appointed captain Shardul Thakur for putting the team above individuals in the setup.
“The team has been supportive. We have a very good captain. Shardul bhai is doing a very good job. And the coach, Omkar Salvi, Atul (Ranade) sir, they are doing a great job. We try to practice as much as we can. I am very happy that after a long time, Mumbai has got a captain like Shardul Thakur. He has put himself in the back and the team in the front.”
“If we see sometimes, if he feels that the wicket is suited for fast bowling, he will not insist that he will bowl because he is the captain and if I take the wicket, it will help my career. For the past 10-12 years, I have also been playing Ranji Trophy. So, this is different,” he said.
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On Sunday, Sarfaraz will come up against some familiar names in the Puducherry setup, including their captain, Sagar Udeshi, with whom he has played cricket in the maidans.
“They have also played cricket with us for a long time. Yes, I have played with him (Udeshi) for a long time. I used to practice with him in Azad Maidan,” the right-hander said.
