Sarfaraz Khan, once hailed as India’s ABD, is smashing records again in domestic cricket and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Despite elite first-class numbers, he remains sidelined — but a CSK lifeline may revive his India dream.
It was nearly a decade ago at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during the 2015 IPL. The Royal Challengers Bangalore batting line-up was overflowing with superstars — Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli, and Dinesh Karthik. And yet, when the scoreboard flashed the highest strike rate of the day, the number belonged not to the legends, but to a teenage boy. Seventeen-year-old Sarfaraz Khan had just smashed 45 off 21 balls against the Rajasthan Royals. As he walked back, an impressed Virat Kohli greeted him with a bow. The message was clear — the IPL had found a prodigy long before the world spoke of the next big thing.
Back then, Sarfaraz was christened “India’s ABD,” a 360-degree batter who could toy with field settings and bowlers’ minds alike. But cricket — like life — is rarely linear.
A Career Paused Before It Began
Despite churning out runs relentlessly in first-class cricket, Sarfaraz spent years watching others leapfrog him into the Indian side. When the call finally came in February 2024 against England in Rajkot, it felt like justice delayed — though not quite denied.
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Yet the dream run was fleeting. His international career, which began in early 2024, was over by November the same year. Squad announcements came and went. His name never featured.
Whispers followed. Perceptions hardened. Sarfaraz slipped out of favour — not because the runs stopped, but perhaps because opinions had already been formed.
Refusing To Let Go
But cricketers like Sarfaraz don’t disappear quietly.
If you turn up at Mumbai’s matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, you’ll still see the same audacious strokeplay that once made Kohli bow. In Jaipur, against Goa, Sarfaraz tore into the bowling. His 56-ball century became Mumbai’s fastest of the season — beating even Rohit Sharma’s effort against Sikkim days earlier.
He finished with 157 off 75 balls — nine fours, 14 sixes, and a strike rate of 209. Across three innings this season, he has piled up 220 runs at an average of 110.
This isn’t a comeback attempt. It’s a reminder.
Domestic Cricket’s Reluctant Rebel
Form? He has never really lost it.
In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, he hammered 329 runs from seven innings — three fifties, a century, an average above 65, and a strike rate crossing 200. Look deeper, and the numbers only get more staggering.
Sixty first-class matches. 4863 runs. Sixteen centuries. Sixteen half-centuries. An average of 63.15.
These aren’t just statistics. They’re evidence of a career built on persistence, grit, and a stubborn refusal to be forgotten.
And yet, since the New Zealand series — where he was India’s third-highest scorer with 171 runs including a century — the door has stayed closed.
Blocked Pathways and Harsh Realities
Indian cricket today leans toward multi-dimensional cricketers. The Test setup is stacked with all-rounders — Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, and Ravindra Jadeja. Three of them are mainstays. Dhruv Jurel’s arrival has further complicated the middle-order puzzle.
For a pure batter like Sarfaraz, the road is narrower than ever.
And still, he waits.
A Lifeline in Yellow
If there is one gateway that can change everything, it’s the IPL. When Chennai Super Kings bought Sarfaraz for ₹75 lakh, it wasn’t just another transaction.
“Thank you CSK for giving me a new life,” he wrote — a rare moment of vulnerability that said more than any press conference ever could.
For Sarfaraz, this isn’t about fame anymore. It’s about belonging. About proving that the boy wonder from 2015 still exists — just older, hungrier, and perhaps a touch wiser.
The Story Isn’t Over Yet
One season. Sometimes that’s all it takes.
If Sarfaraz lights up the IPL 2026, the selectors will have no choice but to look his way again. Because cricket — despite everything — still respects undeniable talent.
And the young man who once made Virat Kohli bow still believes his time will come.
For now, he continues to do what he has always done — score runs, ignore the noise, and wait for the day Indian cricket remembers the prodigy it once celebrated.
