Kamal Ghorui
MUMBAI: Having played with modern-day legends Virat Kohli at Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Rohit Sharma for India, Sarfaraz Khan is now excited about the opportunity to play with the legendary MS Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2026. “My dream was to play with the legends of this generation. I played with Virat bhai at RCB. I never thought I’d get a chance to play with Rohit bhai, but I did in the Test team. I never thought I’d play with Mahi bhai, especially after he retired from international cricket but after going unsold, CSK picked me in the IPL. I consider myself very lucky,” Sarfaraz told reporters at the Mumbai Cricket Association’s ground in Bandra-Kurla Complex on Wednesday, a day before Mumbai take on Delhi in a Ranji Trophy match at the venue.CSK bought Mumbai’s in-form batter at his base price of Rs 75 lakhs in the IPL auction in Abu Dhabi last year.Mumbai will hope that Sarfaraz, who smashed a scintillating double century (227 off 219 balls) against a Hyderabad attack which included India pacer Mohammed Siraj in his last Ranji appearance, continues his blazing form.“I didn’t play well in the first 3-4 matches, but it was my fifth double century, so I was excited. I didn’t make a century, but I made 40-50. You guys say that I make big runs, so what can I do? Even 40-70 are good,” Sarfaraz added. “I don’t think about the future. All I have in my mind is what I have been doing for so many years. I will keep practising, trying to improve. I am working hard in white-ball cricket. I want to play for India in (the) white-ball (format). I’m focusing on that. I am also working with (younger brother) Musheer (Khan) on his bowling and batting.”Sarfaraz also recalled that recuperating for “45-50 days” at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru after suffering a quadriceps injury in August last year was “very tough” for him.“The NCA is very tough. You are alone there. The travelling is also long. You travel for 40-45 minutes from the city to the airport. It is very tough. You get frustrated by the injury. You keep thinking, what about me? These things keep happening,” he added.
