Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz Khan is a young 17-year old cricketer, who plays for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. He was also a part of the Indian under-19 team that played in the 2014 World Cup.

His range of strokes and aggressive hitting is well known in the domestic circles. In the Under-19 World Cup, he scored 211 runs at an average of 70.33 and a strike rate of 105.

Sarfaraz first got noticed when he scored a magnificent 439 in his maiden Haris Shield game in 2009 when he was just 12. Interestingly, he is no new to controversy. Sarfaraz was suspended by the Mumbai Cricket Association for fudging his age before they eventually accepted the result of an advanced test. Soon after, he was dismissed from the MCA's indoor academy camp on disciplinary grounds. It took a while for the young lad to put everything behind him but once he did, he earned a prominent place in the Mumbai Under-19 team. His performances there eventually led him to be a part of the Indian Under-19 side.

Sarfaraz's life, however, is still tough, His father, Naushad, also his coach, is a hard taskmaster. Naushad Khan was also a well known cricketer in Mumbai in those days and was responsible for discovering talents such as Iqbal Abdullah and Kamran Khan.

Since the youngster has not been able to attend school from last four years due to cricket commitments, his father has employed a private maths and English tutor for him and his youngest brother, Musheer. What is even more special is that his brother broke Sarfaraz's record for the youngest club debut in Mumbai in 2014, when he debuted in the Giles Shield U-14 tournament at the age of 6 years and 9 months.

IPL - Through the years

The youngest to feature in an IPL game, Sarfaraz Khan was roped in by Royal Challengers Bangalore at the 2015 auctions. He shot to fame with his unbeaten knock of 45 off 21 Rajasthan Royals. While walking back to the dressing room after playing that innings, RCB skipper Virat Kohli bowed in front of the 17-year-old - an unforgettable moment. Despite his cameos in 2016, he was dropped from the playing XI due to his lack of fitness. The following year, he missed the IPL as he suffered a leg injury. In a surprising move, RCB decided to retain him in 2018 ahead of Chris Gayle and KL Rahul, which raised plenty of eyebrows. Sarfaraz’s performance was well below par and that forced the RCB management to release him ahead of the 2019 season. The pocket-sized dynamo was snapped up by Kings XI Punjab to boost their lower-middle order.