Sarfaraz is youngest pick, Shreyas for DD

MUMBAI: Two Mumbai youngsters were on cloud nine after hitting pay dirt in the IPL auction in Bengaluru on Monday. Shreyas Iyer, 20, who was out for 13 as Mumbai were skittled for 156 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy clash against Delhi, was bought by Delhi Daredevils for a whopping Rs 2.6 crore even as Sarfaraz Khan, 17, went to Royal Challengers Bangalore for Rs 50 lakh.
While there would always be arguments against paying young cricketers such huge amounts, the fact is, all of them have shown enough promise and pointers to a bright future.
Having amassed 662 runs in nine games @50.92, including a couple of hundreds and four fifties, Iyer is amongst the top 10 run-getters in his maiden Ranji season. His consistent performance has been one of the main reasons why Mumbai have made it to the last eight this time. Earlier this season, Iyer had scored 273 runs @54.60 in the Vijay Hazare one-dayers. It is apparent that Mumbai coach Pravin Amre, who is part of the Daredevils support staff, must have recommended the youngster's name to his IPL team. Having Shreyas Iyer and Sarfaraz Khan coached Iyer since he was 12 at his academy in Shivaji Park Gymkhana, Amre has fair idea about his talent.
Sarfaraz hit the headlines as a 12-year-old in 2009, when he hit 439, then a world record, in an inter-school Harris Shield game. Last year, the teenager was India's top run-scorer in the U-19 World Cup in the UAE, scoring 211 runs in six games @70.33. Like Iyer, Sarfaraz made his Ranji debut this season, but didn't enjoy a similar run. He was dropped after scoring a fifty in three games.
A Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) goof-up then made it worse for him. He was told to join the Mumbai Ranji squad there, a day before the match. His joy turned into despair when he received another call from MCA to cancel his trip and play the Cooch Behar U-19 semifinal instead. The youngster, however, overcame the fiasco to score 78 against Rajasthan, and then 120 in the final against Punjab, to lead Mumbai to the title.
Sarfaraz's father Naushad, who is also his coach, is clear about what exactly he would do with the money. "I had to take my kids and other wards on my bike for their practice and matches, from Kurla to the maidans of South Mumbai, which was tough. Now, I would like to buy a car and a house," Naushad said.
For a man who once sold vegetables in the local train to support his seven other siblings, and later had to even put up a clothes stall at a pavement in the city's famous 'Fashion Street' to augment his earnings, Naushad knows the value of money, and is keen that his son isn't swayed by his bad side-effects.
"I will counsel him on the repercussions of getting carried away," Naushad said.