Sarfaraz Khan’s father, Naushad Khan, shed tears of joy, happiness, and pride when his eldest son received his India debut Test cap, from the hands of legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble, on the morning of the Rajkot Test against India. More emotions flew after Sarfaraz notched up a blockbuster half-century, off 48 balls.
Naushad, who played professional cricket in Mumbai but had to give up his dream of playing for long due to financial restrictions, made huge sacrifices and undertook immense hard work to make his sons Sarfaraz and Musheer cricketers. Sarfaraz now has made his India Test debut and Musheer recently returned as the second-leading scorer in the under-19 World Cup in South Africa.
The images and videos of Sarfaraz Khan’s father standing and bursting into tears when Sarfaraz got his Test cap and brought it to show to him, and he kissed it with pride, have gone viral on social media.
However, all of it may not have happened if not for a fortunate interaction of Sarfaraz Khan’s father with Suryakumar Yadav, Sarfaraz’s Mumbai teammate.
Surya’s message almost made me melt, says Sarfaraz Khan’s father, Naushad
Naushad revealed that initially, he was reluctant to come to Rajkot because he thought maybe his son would come under pressure and he also had a cold. But Suryakumar Yadav, who made his Test debut last year, persuaded Naushad to witness his son’s debut.
Naushad told PTI, “Initially, I thought I wouldn’t come as that would put Sarfaraz in some kind of pressure, and apart from that I also had a bit of a cold. But Surya’s message almost made me melt.”
Suryakumar sent a voice note to Naushad in which he said, “I do understand your emotions. But trust me, when I made my Test debut (last year in March against Australia in Nagpur) and was receiving my Test cap, my father and mother were just behind. And that moment was something beyond special. These moments don’t come too often. So I would suggest that you must go.”
Naushad added, “After this message from Surya, I couldn’t stop myself from coming. Just took a pill and came here yesterday.”
Sarfaraz’s blitz of 62 runs in 66 balls shifted the momentum on India’s side, but his run out, due to a wrong call by Ravindra Jadeja, brought the game back in balance.
Also Read: “Muh Todd Jawab Diya..” – Mohammad Kaif Hailed Rohit Sharma For His Powerful Knock
