Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Sandeep Patil used to play in the Dr HD Kanga Cricket League when they were in town. But most of today’s Mumbai based India cricketers don’t do the same.
Sarfaraz wasn’t picked by BCCI for the five-Test series against England but he got attention for his hard work to be fit, scoring 61 off 42 balls for Parkophone Cricketers against Islam Gymkhana. He wants to get back in the Indian team and even mentioned Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar in his message to Mumbai cricketers.
Playing for Parkophene Cricketers against Islam Gymkhana, Sarfaraz batted at No. 4 and scored 61 off 42 balls (4 fours and 4 sixes). In his hour at the wicket, he and Shreeraj Gharat (43) added 105 runs as his team was 159-5. Parkophene got three points as Islam Gymkhana was bowled out for 73 thanks to Deepak Shetty’s 7-36.
“I was excited about this Kanga League match and reached early at 8 am. I was just happy to spend time playing. The pitch wasn’t easy and I was hit on my helmet. Also, the grass made boundaries hard,” Sarfaraz told Mid-Day.
When I was a kid, my dad [coach Naushad Khan] used to tell me stories about Sunil Gavaskar playing a Kanga League match after coming back from England in the morning. So, Musheer [younger brother] and I have always liked playing in this tournament. Coming back from Nagpur [Saturday] we hoped it wouldn’t rain. It did a bit but it was good when I got to Islam Gymkhana. My last Kanga League match was three years ago. I saw my name in the league book for scoring a century in 2018 which felt good,” Sarfaraz said.
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Sarfaraz is in the running for the two-Test series against West Indies. “Mumbai players should play Kanga League. Some worry that if you fail here it will harm your future. But if Gavaskar and Tendulkar thought that way they might not have become legends. If big players play it will inspire young players. If you do well in Kanga League you can score runs anywhere. Sarfaraz will play for West Zone in the Duleep Trophy starting at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru on August 28.
In a C Division game, Musheer helped Payyade Sports Club beat Kandivali Cricket Association (KCA) at Cross Maidan. Payyade scored 123, Musheer scored 84. Musheer then took 3-8 as KCA was bowled out for 60. Payyade then said their score was 82 for no loss, Musheer was 35 not out. He took seven for four to bowl out the other team for 22 in the second time.
