Sarfaraz Khan regrets his decision to leave Mumbai in 2015
Middle-order batsman Sarfaraz Khan is on a roll in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. Playing for Mumbai, he scripted history by scoring an unbeaten triple hundred against Uttar Pradesh, last week. As he looks to continue his dominating form in the tournament, he said that his decision to leave Mumbai for UP, in 2015, was a bad one. Here is what Sarfaraz said.
Speaking on leaving Mumbai, Sarfaraz admitted that it was a bad decision to leave Mumbai, besides stating that the move was circumstantial. "Dad felt that was the best way forward for me. There is no point looking back at why I made the move. But, when I moved, I kept having this thought: 'Will I ever play for Mumbai again?'" he recalled.
"Quitting Uttar Pradesh and coming back was entirely my call. Of course, we discussed the pros and cons, I decided if I had to serve out some time, I better do it now than later," added Sarfaraz, speaking in an exclusive interview with ESPNCricinfo.
As for his triple century, Sarfaraz was delighted to have his name among other Mumbai greats like Sunil Gavaskar, Wasim Jaffer, and Rohit Sharma. "There was this fear in my mind that half the season had finished and I hadn't yet made any kind of impact. So this triple century came at the right time," he further added.
Sarfaraz became only the seventh Mumbai batsman to hit a triple hundred in the Ranji. He joins an elite list of Mumbai batsmen that include the likes of Gavaskar, Sanjay Manjrekar, Jaffer, Rohit, Vijay Merchant, and Ajit Wadekar.
Sarfraz's unbeaten 301 was only the eighth instance of a Mumbai batsman scoring a Ranji Trophy triple hundred. Veteran batsman Wasim Jaffer, who plays for Vidarbha now, had slammed two triple centuries in Ranji for Mumbai, earlier. Sarfaraz completed his triple century in 388 deliveries. He slammed 30 fours and eight sixes. Interestingly, he brought up both 250 and 300 with a six.
UP rode on a double century by wicket-keeper batsman Upendra Yadav (203*). Besides Yadav, middle-order batsman Akshdeep Nath scored 115. For Mumbai, Royston Dias claimed 3/103. Mumbai started on the back foot, however, Siddesh Lad (98) and Sarfaraz stole the show. He scored an unbeaten 398-ball 301. For UP, skipper Ankit Rajpoot grabbed three scalps as the match ended in a draw.
