Mumbai: One of the criticisms against Sarfaraz Khan has always been that he has been too overweight — many have termed him as 'fat' and hence unfit to play top-level cricket, even though legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar has defended his fitness, emphasizing that a player's performance and cricket fitness are more important than their body weight.
In a heartening development that should certainly help him in his cricket career, Sarfaraz, who was picked for the India A squad for the upcoming tour of England on Friday, has eventually decided to improve on this aspect too. After remaining unsold in the IPL, the 27-year-old has been working hard on improving his fitness in recent times and shedding excess weight. In his endeavour to become lean and fit (and he does bear a far more slimmer look these days than earlier), the Mumbaikar has lost a staggering 10 kilograms in a month. In fact, since the last couple of months, Sarfaraz's whole family has been on a weight-losing spree, which has produced significant results. Advised to lose weight on an urgent basis to avoid a knee replacement surgery, Sarfaraz's father-cum-coach Naushad Khan has lost 12 kgs in a month.
Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!"Our whole family is focused on a 'weight-losing mission.' Sarfaraz has lost nine kilograms too in six weeks, which isn't easy, and he's raring to lose more weight," Naushad told TOI. "Both Sarfaraz and I have been slogging in the gym at the Mumbai Cricket Association's BKC facility for at least an hour for six days a week. I go for a walk, while he jogs at the club for almost an hour, and then there's a 30-minute swimming session. Even my younger son Moin (Khan) has lost a lot of weight," he said.
Much of this weight-loss mission for the Khans has also involved a "strict diet." "Sarfaraz and I have stopped eating aata (flour) and rice at home completely. Our diet is now strict but interesting — we eat vegetable sauté with boiled chicken, boiled eggs, and drink green tea and black coffee," Naushad said. "We are using very little (olive) oil in our food," Naushad revealed. That means that Sarfaraz is no longer feasting on his favourite non-vegetarian dishes — particularly the chicken and mutton biryani — but it's a sacrifice that the middle-order batter has consciously made to improve his fitness drastically.
Who's that IPL player?Both Sarfaraz and his younger brother Musheer Khan (the Punjab Kings all-rounder was back home in Mumbai when the IPL was halted briefly) have been training daily (morning and evening) at the Karnatak ground on Cross Maidan under the watchful eyes of Naushad. While Sarfaraz is set to miss the third edition of the T20 Mumbai League, even though he was the Icon player for Aakash Tigers, Musheer was bought for Rs 15 lakh by Arcs Andheri.
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