Whipping-boy Sarfaraz gets World Cup ticket

The 15-year old Mumbai boy hasovercome his brash days and has been rewarded for his consistency.He fudges age. He's uncouth, a 'ghoda among' his teammates. He rightly deserved his expulsion from the BCCI's indoor academy two years ago. Stickers of revulsion were stuck on 15-year-old Sarfaraz Khan, who shot into prominence with a 439 in the Harris Shield four years ago. The runs never dried up forSarfaraz but neither did the barbs. Something has changed, for they are talkingof his consistency and focus. And now this once whipping boy has been rewardedwith a place in India's U-19 World Cup squad. Many an emergingtalent had risen through the ranks after their exploits in the junior World Cup- Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli to name a few.How far will Sarfaraz go? Mumbai cricket talks glowingly of Sarfaraz, Arman Jaffer and Prithvi Shaw, who is the youngest of the three. If Arman is a stylist, Prithvi easy on the eye, Sarfaraz is the most aggressive of the three. The boy also seems to be blessed with inborn confidence.Dr Samir Pathak, a clinical research surgeon in the UK, who pioneered anIndia-England exchange programme for kids such as Sarfaraz and Prithvi, recallsSarfaraz's stint with the Hull Cricket Club. Pathak says, "He had come to play afew weeks of Yorkshire League. His baggage had been lost, so he arrived for hisfirst game with no kit. Sarfaraz went to bat in the nets wearing gloves toolarge, a helmet too big and unfamiliar footwear. He proceeded to hit all thebowlers around the park and the Hull CC boys, myself included, were stunned atthe audacity and talent of this youngster who had just arrived from Mumbai. Theywondered how good he would be when his own kit arrived!" It's well-documented how he spends hours at the Azad Maidan honing his skills under the watch of his father, Naushad Khan. Unlike Arman, who lives in two-storeyed shanty in Bandra, Sarfaraz enjoys amenities that his peers can't dream of. Naushad has placed a green matting wicket on the courtyard of their residence at Taximan colony in Kurla, so that the boy could practise even at night. Mercury lights glow on the top of the net, and a CCTV camera records his footwork. The boy is not a regular at school, and he is given tuitions in themiddle of his practice sessions. Naushad says Sarfaraz's limited grasp of theEnglish language is actually a boon. He shared an interesting episode. In arecent U-19 series, he pummelled South African with a 66-ball 101. The Proteassledged him no end but Sarfaraz didn't react. Just that he didn't understand aword of what they meant, however hard he tried. Come the U-19 WorldCup - the way Sarfaraz is going, his vocabulary is the last thing his opponentswill discuss. Squad: Vijay Zol (captain), Akhil Herwadkar, Ankush Bains, Ricky Bhui, Sanju Vishwanadh Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, Amir Gani, Karan Kaila, CV Milind, Avesh Khan, Monu Kumar Singh and Atit Seth