Sarfaraz Khan fulfills his promise to the family after brother Musheer’s accident

Running machine Sarfaraz Khan had made a promise to his Mumbai teammates and family after his younger brother Musheer was ruled out of the Irani Cup match against Rest of India following a road accident: to score a double hundred. Sarfaraz, who is known for scoring big scores, kept his word with a magnificent knock of 222 and led Mumbai to a mammoth 537 all-out on the third day of play even as Musheer was recovering from the accident he suffered on the trip in The city had suffered match along with his father Naushad Khan.

“Yes, it was an emotional week for me. I had promised my family and teammates that I will score 200 when I am ready – a hundred for me and a hundred for my brother (Musheer),” Sarfaraz told reporters at the end of the day’s match.

“If he (Musheer) had played in the match, Abbu (father) would have been prouder. Unfortunately he had an accident. So I thought that somehow I have to score a double goal in this match.” Sarfaraz, 26, said he spoke to his brother, who is seven years his junior, and the man who is once again knocking on the national team’s doors.

“Yes, I spoke to him. He is fine but it will take two-three months for him to recover,” said Sarfaraz, who scored a half-century in the Dharamsala Test against England in March.

Sarfaraz became the first player to score a double hundred for Mumbai in the Irani Cup.

His 15th first-class century will certainly dispel any doubts about his place as a reserve middle-order batter for the remainder of the Test season (8 matches).

When asked about his penchant for big shots, Sarfaraz said, “I am known to play big shots. I feel good when I do things I’m known for. Mumbai also needed me to bat for long,” he said.

“It is a great opportunity for us to win the Irani Cup after a long time. In the back of my mind, I was thinking about playing as long as possible and putting as many runs on the field as possible that will help the team win,” Sarfaraz added.

The Ekana Stadium track was damp on the second day and the humidity contributed to the ball seaming around initially and the extra bounce made it a challenge for the batsmen.

Sarfaraz’s offside performance was royal and there is nothing more to add to his footwork against the spinners. He was brutal, especially against left-arm spinner Manav Suthar (0/137 in 37 overs), who looked clueless.

At a certain point he used the negative leg-stump line and Sarfaraz either went slightly inside out or bent on one knee to maximize it.

He further spoke about his monumental achievement and said, “I have played in the Irani Cup before and scored a century for the rest of India. But this is a very emotional innings for me as I play for my home team. That’s what I do.” I will put in extra effort so that Mumbai can win the cup.

“If you look at it, the weather was obviously a challenge. We are currently playing against some of the best players in India,” he said.

“Most of them have played international cricket. I wanted to score runs against them. It was an opportunity to do my best. I’m happy with the time I spent in the middle.”

“The entire team put in a lot of effort to reach the Irani Cup by winning the Ranji Trophy last season. It’s not that our team can’t win this tournament). In fact, we are one of the best teams in India. So “we hope we do well and win.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)