Anand Mahindra, the Chairperson of Mahindra & Mahindra, has offered Sarfaraz Khan’s father Naushad a Thar SUV for being an ‘inspirational father’. Naushad has played a monumental role in Sarfaraz’s cricket career over the last 15-odd years and today, as the 26-year-old realised his dream of earning an India Test cap, the gracious gesture for the 52-year-old comes as an icing on the cake.
“Hard work. Courage. Patience. What better qualities than those for a father to inspire in a child? For being an inspirational parent, it would be my privilege & honour if Naushad Khan would accept the gift of a Thar,” the chairperson shared on X.
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Sarfaraz’s moment under the son as he received his Test cap from Anil Kumble wasn’t just his own. It was a huge win for his wife, his brother, family and most importantly his father, who cried inconsolably at the sight of his son become an Indian cricketer. The years of hard work, toil, gritting it out in the Ranji Trophy… season after season and the agonisingly long wait had finally paid off. The father-son duo had dreamt about this moment for years, with Sarfaraz only making it sweeter with a blistering half-century on debut.
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Naushad, an employee with the Western Railways, comes from a not-so-well-to-do background. From selling toffees and cucumbers in moving trains to making ends meet by selling trackpants, Naushad did not have it easy but ensured his son made a name for himself. From a young age itself, Sarfaraz was supported by his father, who stood by his son through thick and thin and at every step of the way. Each time, he piled runs but wasn’t rewarded, Naushad was the one who did not allow Sarfaraz’s spirits to dampen.
“Earlier when I used to work hard, I always wondered why is it that my dream is not turning into a reality. But now that he’s got his cap, my thinking has changed. To all the kids who are working hard, I just have to saw that darkness never lasts forever. The sun will be out when it has to. Our job is to work hard, keep patience and never give up,” Sarfaraz had said on his son’s debut.
What a debut
Sarfaraz walked out at the fall of India’s fourth wicket with the score on 237 after Rohit Sharma was dismissed having put on 204 runs with Ravindra Jadeja. Showing nerves of steel, Sarfaraz began batting in the third gear and switched to fifth within no time. He took 48 balls to reach his half-century – the joint second-fastest fifty on debut by an Indian – sharing the honour with Hardik Pandya. Sarfaraz struck nine fours and a six and added 77 runs with Jadeja before getting run out unceremoniously. Sarfaraz had to wait for his turn – expected to bat at No. 5 – but had to stay back with Jadeja getting a promotion ahead of him. In the end, he showed why sending him in before wouldn’t have been the worst of ideas.
