IND vs. ENG, Third Test: Sarfaraz Khan’s Father Cries as His Son Gets Anil Kumble’s First India Cap

Is there any reason not to find cricket romantic? Today, when debutant Sarfaraz Khan got his first Test cap for India, the elegance and significance of the gentleman’s game were on full show.

It has been a difficult journey for Sarfaraz to get his first opportunity, but Anil Kumble, the renowned Indian spinner, gave him his maiden Test cap.

Sarfaraz has been making incredible plays in local cricket for a long time, but he has also been having difficulty breaking through the ranks to play for India internationally.

And Naushad Khan, the father of the child Sarfaraz, was overwhelmed by everything and broke down in tears of happiness when he saw the event.

On Thursday, Naushad was in close proximity to his son’s cap presentation event at the Saurashtra Cricket Association in Rajkot. With an immense feeling of satisfaction and happiness, he took his son’s debut cap into his hands and kissed the emblem that had evaded him the whole time.

There are many arguments for and against Sartfaraz’s exclusion from the Indian Test team, but few of them provide a compelling response.

Sarfaraz has established himself as one of the most effective hitters in first-class cricket. With an incredible average of 69.85, the right-hander has amassed 3912 runs in only 45 games.

His ability to turn his beginnings into enormous innings that rattle the scoreboard is yet another impressive feature of his game; he has 14 tons and 11 half-centuries.

And because their lack of middle-order firepower has been an obvious problem, India will be aiming to capitalize on this facet of his game today.

A number of middle-order catastrophes with the bat have occurred throughout the previous two Test matches; young players like Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal have had to dig deep to save India.

An added advantage for India, whose middle-order has been having trouble against the English spinners, is that Sarfaraz can hit a variety of strokes and has a natural ability to take on spinners.

Today, when India plays England in the third Test in Rajkot, Sarfaraz will make his debut with Dhruv Jurel.