Sarfaraz Khan is excited to grasp the opportunity created, by the retirements of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from Test cricket. Sarfaraz Khan is 27 years of age and sees a vacant middle-order position. KL Rahul or Sai Sudharsan could step into Rohits's opening spot, and Shubman Gill might fill Kohli's number four spot, but number five, which was Kohli for 15 years is vacant.
With India ready to tour England shortly, Sarfaraz wants to claim that position. Sarfaraz has been named in India A's 18 member squad to play two matches, against the England Lions and one intra-squad game with the Indian squad.
To prepare for this challenge in England, Sarfaraz has improved his training and fitness. He hasn't played for five months in any games or tournaments and wants to ensure he returns match ready. It is why he is currently under a strict fitness regime.
He has totally changed his diet. He has had only meals of boiled vegetables, and boiled chicken to lose weight, according to India Today - and it has worked. He lost 10 kg. Sarfaraz was never deemed unfit - nor should he have been as his swift movement against pace and spin showed - but there was still plenty of room for improvement.
And he has not only focused on his fitness, but he is also working on his game. He has been training in the nets twice a day and focused on his technique - especially leaving balls outside off-stump. Playing expansively at those balls is a catastrophic, careless, and foolish mistake in England's swinging conditions, and Sarfaraz is keen to avoid that.
Also Read |
India A squad for the England tour
Abhimanyu Easwaran (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel (vc & wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sarfaraz Khan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shardul Thakur, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Tanush Kotian, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Khaleel Ahmed, Tushar Deshpande
Note: Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan will join the squad ahead of the second match.
