Revealed: Reason behind Sarfaraz Khan wearing jersey with the number 97!
Dec 22, 2018 at 5:17 PM
Sarfaraz Khan is seen as the next big thing in Indian cricket. Destined for great things, the youngster rose to prominence when just at the age of 12, he broke the record for the highest score in the Harris Shield inter-school tournament, making 439 for Rizvi Springfield in an innings that featured 56 fours and 12 sixes. After that, there was no looking back as he kept on performing consistently. He starred for India in the U-19 World Cup and impressed everyone with his brilliant cameos in the IPL.
Cricket aside, the youngster has an interesting story about his jersey number. Sportspersons are known to be superstitious and we have witnessed some really weird jersey numbers.
Sarfaraz Khan used to wear a jersey with the number 87 but after the match against Pakistan in the U-19 World Cup in 2014, the youngster was seen wearing jersey number 97. When asked the reason for it, Sarfaraz explained that it was his way of expressing his respect to his father since ’97′ in Hindi translates to ‘Nau Saat‘, which rhymes with ‘Naushad’, which is his father’s name.
Sarfaraz’s father is also his coach and has played an important role in shaping the batsman’s career.
Journey in cricket so far:
After an exceptional season for the Mumbai Under-19 team, he was selected for the Indian Under-19 team to play the quadrangular series in 2013. The youngster justified the selection by playing a match-winning 66-ball 101 while chasing against South Africa.
Impressed with his performance, the selectors rewarded him with a spot in the India squad for the Under-19 World Cup in UAE in 2014. Having scored 211 runs in six games at an average of 70.33, Sarfaraz hogged the limelights and showed the world his true potentials. The following year was a big year for him as IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore bought him for INR 50 lakhs, and he soon became the youngest player to play in the IPL. A year later, Sarfaraz finished as the second-highest run scorer in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, with 355 runs from six matches, and emerged as the batting mainstay of the team.