Mumbai teammates strongly support India batter Sarfaraz Khan to boost his spirits in “any way we can,” despite the fact that being overlooked by the Indian team and even the India A teams may be demoralizing, according to Siddesh Lad on Friday.
Sarfaraz has yet to reach fifty in this Ranji Trophy season after making 42, 32, 1, 15, and 5 not out in Mumbai’s first three games. Sarfaraz joined the Indian Test team after consistently scoring high runs in domestic events.
The 28-year-old Sarfaraz went on the Indian squad’s trip of Australia, but he did not play in any games. Since then, he has also been overlooked for any ‘A’ team assignments.
“At the end, he is a human being and everyone makes some mistakes. There is always that (rough) patch for big players. If we look at the last 4-5 years, he has consistently scored runs,” Lad told the media, on the eve of Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy match against Himachal Pradesh in Mumbai.
“Somewhere, it could be demotivating as a player but at this time, it is up to us as a team and support staff as to how do we lift him up? We know his potential and if he plays (well), he will play big innings. As a team, we will try to lift his confidence in any way we can,” Lad added.
The three teams in Ranji Trophy Elite Group D—Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Jammu and Kashmir—are locked at ten points apiece, but Lad stated that the 42-time champions will try to make the most of their two home games.
Before the break, Mumbai will play Himachal Pradesh and Puducherry. Lad stated that the squad has improved their comprehension of the pitch at the BKC Ground, which has been slower and more spin-friendly from the past due to a prolonged rainy season.
“Both these matches are very important for us. We have to finish the first leg well. I feel as a team we have done well. We made some mistakes in the first innings (against Rajasthan) but we have learned from our mistakes,” Lad said.
“Of course, if you are playing at your home, you know the conditions, (and) everything about the pitch. We are well prepared in that way. We know that it is very important to win both the games for us if we want to qualify in the knockout stage.”
Mumbai, featuring Yashasvi Jaiswal (67 and 156) in their lineup for the away fixture in Jaipur, conceded a massive 363-run first-innings lead to Rajasthan. However, Jaiswal’s brilliant century in the second innings helped them salvage a hard-fought draw.
“We didn’t give the outright win. We batted really well in the second inning. Especially Yashasvi and Musheer Khan. (We are) very happy (that) Musheer is back in form. We know he has got the potential to score big runs,” he said.
Given his team’s high standards, the Mumbai middle-order mainstay claimed that his expertise has enabled him to handle pressure situations.
“Any game for Mumbai, (or) even for the club cricket, pressure will be always there because if I go and play for (a) club, there will be expectations from me. If we play for Mumbai, all (of) India watches your score (and) your scorecard. There are high expectations always from the Mumbai team,” he said.
“Even if we lose the finals, it is counted as a bad year for us, so there is always pressure. But now, my experience has helped me to overcome the pressure when the team needs,” he added.
