Proud dad Naushad juggles screens as Sarfaraz and Musheer score tons across continents
MUMBAI: Very few can understand the tonnes of joy and pride Naushad Khan must have experienced as a father, and as a coach too, on what turned out to be a 'Terrific Thursday' for him and his family. At Ahmedabad, his elder son Sarfaraz Khan, 26, ignored for the nth time when the national selectors chose Rajat Patidar over him for the first two Tests, kept knocking on the door, smashing a brilliant 161 off 160 balls, in a flawless knock that included 18 fours and five sixes against the England Lions in the second unofficial Test. Never mind that the opposition attack had two seamers Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse who have played for England.
7,625 kilometres away, Sarfaraz's younger brother Musheer was lighting up the Under-19 World Cup in Bloemfontein. Batting at No. 3 for India, he smashed a century (118 off 106 balls, 9x4, 4x6) against Ireland.
When both his sons are in action at the same time, Naushad has a hard time tracking their performance. "I had gone for the BCCI annual awards in Hyderabad to receive the Madhavrao Scindia award on behalf of Sarfaraz (for being the highest run-getter of the 2022 edition). When I was about to board my flight to Lucknow, Sarfaraz was batting on 145, and Musheer was on 45. Till that point, I was watching Musheer's batting on my mobile, and tracking Sarfaraz's score on my friend's phone. However, as I was on the flight for sometime after that, I missed watching Musheer's century," Naushad told TOI from Lucknow.
"I am very happy. I want to thank all our well-wishers at the Mumbai Cricket Association, the coaching staff at the National Cricket Academy and the BCCI for supporting both my sons. I'm confident that like they have awarded Sarfaraz, the BCCI will one day reward him with the India cap too," said Naushad, his voice clearly choking with pride.
Meanwhile, Sarfaraz is reproducing his consistent performances in domestic cricket for India 'A' now-his previous scores against the England Lions in this series read: 96, 4, 55. In an intra-squad match in South Africa in Centurion in December, he scored an unbeaten 103. Before that, he scored 68 and 38 against South Africa 'A'. His first-class record reads: 44 matches, 3751 runs, average: 68.2. That tally includes 13 centuries and 11 fifties.
Meanwhile, the 18-year-old Musheer journey as an allrounder has just begun. Tipped for bigger things, he is emulating Sarfaraz, who played for India in two Under-19 World Cups (2014 & 16). In India's lung-opener against Bangladesh at Bloemfontein, he was out for just 3, but bounced back with 2-35 in 10 overs with his left-arm spin, besides pulling off a run out off his own bowling.
Just before going for the U-19 World Cup, Musheer, who has played three First-Class matches so far and made his Mumbai debut with Sarfaraz in the side, took a hat-trick for Cricket Club of India against Victory in the Police Shield semifinal at PJ Hindu Gymkhana.
"Both the brothers have an excellent understanding with each other. I make them practice together at the Karnataka ground (at Cross Maidan), and at our backyard (a special net practice facility at the Bombay Taximens Colony in Kurla). Musheer is doing well with both the bat and ball. I've told both my sons to just focus on their game and have faith in God. They will bear the fruits of their hard work," Naushad said.
