MUMBAI: Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan was blessed with a baby boy on Monday with his wife Romana delivering just about two hours before his 27th birthday.
Sarfaraz, who recently smashed a brilliant 150 in a loss to New Zealand in the first Test at Bengaluru, took to Instagram and revealed that he and his wife were blessed with a baby boy. He also clicked a picture of the baby with himself and his father and coach, Naushad Khan. Sarfaraz turned 27 on Tuesday.
Sarfaraz married his wife Romana in August last year. After years of plundering runs at domestic level cricket, Sarfaraz finally made his international debut during the series against England at home in February this year.
His breakthrough international performance came against Kiwis in the first Test, in which he smashed 150 in just 195 balls with 18 fours and three sixes and had memorable partnerships with Virat Kohli (70) and Rishabh Pant (99) to wipe out NZ’s first innings lead of 356 runs, taken after bundling out India for just 46 runs in the first innings and following up with a score of 402.
India reached 462 runs due to Sarfaraz’s effort, however, the target of 107 runs was too small to defend for Indian bowlers as the Kiwis registered their first Test win in India after 36 years.
In four Tests and seven innings for India, he has made 350 runs at an average of 58.33 with a strike rate of over 77, with a century and three fifties. Sarfaraz remains a force in first-class cricket, having made 4,572 runs at an average of 69.27 and a strike rate of almost 70 in 52 FC matches and 78 innings, with 16 centuries and 14 fifties. His best score is 301*.
This year in 10 FC matches, he has scored 862 runs in 16 innings at an average of 62.92 and a strike rate of 77.55, with three centuries and four fifties. His best score is 222*. With India 1-0 down in the three-match series, Sarfaraz is expected to play a crucial role in the second Test at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium from Thursday. (ANI)