Mumbai: Once considered to be a batting prodigy, Sarfaraz Khan had to wait long for a national team call-up despite scoring heavily in domestic cricket.

His Test debut, at the age of 26, was quite striking as he struck two half-centuries against England. But after playing 6 Test matches in a calendar year (2024) — which saw him blast a career-best 150 against New Zealand — Sarfaraz was out of the playing XI after managing just 21 runs in four innings.

The Mumbai lad, often criticised for being overweight, did not give up hope and kept working on his fitness.

“I may not fit in, but I’ll fight with everything I’ve got,” Sarfaraz wrote on social media after being initially ignored for the tour of Sri Lanka.

The reward was a recall to the Team India squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which begins in Galle on August 15.

An injury to Sai Sudharshan has opened the door for the right-handed batter, who will now be hoping to play a Test match for India after a gap of 21 months.

The Ajit Agarkar-headed selection committee must have noticed the physical transformation Sarfaraz has undergone.

He has shed 17 kg in a little over a year!

From a chubby young man, Sarfaraz now sports a much leaner, sharper look, looking hungry for big-time cricket again.

Sarfaraz, who scored a triple hundred for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy six years ago, spent long hours at the Sher-e-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar to sharpen his skills because he couldn’t train regularly in Mumbai because of seasonal rains.

Post IPL, Sarfaraz played in the Mumbai T20 league where he produced some blistering knocks for Akash Tigers Western Mumbai Suburbs, reported PTI.

But once the monsoon set in over Mumbai, Sarfaraz flew to Kashmir and trained hard with some of the Ranji Trophy-winning Jammu & Kashmir players as well as net bowlers.

He also underwent skills training on astroturf wicket at the MCA indoor facility at BKC complex, and rented private facilities around Kurla where he batted for hours on used and under-prepared red-soil tracks to finetune his batting.

Known to relish facing spinners, Sarfaraz could turn out to be India’s surprise weapon on turning Sri Lankan pitches.

Not yet 29, Sarfaraz has age on his side to make the most of his second coming.