Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan (Source: X/Twitter)
Sarfaraz Khan said that he is eager to share the Indian team’s dressing room with the legendary Virat Kohli during the upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh, beginning on Thursday, September 19, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Sarfaraz has shared the dressing room with Kohli in the past during his time with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), but his dream is to do the same for the Men in Blue. Kohli wasn’t a part of the Mumbai batter’s debut international series earlier this year against England due to personal reasons. However, both of them have been named in the squad for the first Test against Bangladesh.
Sarfaraz made an interesting revelation about Kohli, saying that the former RCB captain tells how many runs he would score off each opposition bowler before a match and break it down for his teammates too. The youngster also hailed Kohli’s leadership skills and ability to hold the team together.
“His passion and spirit are unmatched. Whenever I saw him, even in the pre-match meetings, he’d take charge and tell everyone how many runs he’d score off a particular bowler and break that down for everyone. To be gutsy enough to stand up and talk with such positivity in front of everyone and then deliver the next day is a very unique ability,” Sarfaraz told JioCinema.
“I met him at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for the first time. I had scored 45 runs in 21 balls here and he bowed to me. I had a lot of fun that day. It was a dream to share an Indian team dressing room with him it will come true in the future if I get the opportunity,” he added.
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How did Sarfaraz Khan fair in his debut series?
Sarfaraz made his India debut in the third Test against England at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in February. He scored an enterprising 62 off 66 balls in the first innings before being unfortunately run out. The right-handed batter followed it up with an unbeaten 68 off 72 balls in the second innings before India won by a record 434 runs.
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Sarfaraz managed scores of 14 and 0 in the fourth Test in Ranchi but bounced back with a 60-ball 56 in India’s only innings in the fifth Test in Dharamsala. The Mumbai-born will want to build on his impressive debut outing as India is set to play 10 Test matches over the next few months.