Mumbai: “Haan wo milne gaya hai, uska beta hua hai (yes, he is gone, he had a baby).” Sarfaraz Khan couldn’t be more candid about his father-figure in Royal Challengers Bangalore – Chris Gayle. On Tuesday, the Jamaican took a morning flight home to be with partner Natasha Berridge who is expecting their first child.
Though there is no confirmation whether the baby is already born or about to be born in few hours – Sarfaraz’s statement had a personal touch.
Earlier, Gayle had called the youngster like his son and the camaraderie is not new to his fans.
However, the 18-year-old – who played eccentric scoop shots to perfection in his unbeaten 35 off 10 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad last week – said he learnt a lot from the last season and is raring to go against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday.
“The last season definitely helped, made me confident but at the same time, credit goes to my father who has been behind me and Rahul Dravid (India A coach),” he said.
“Virat Kohli gave me a lot of confidence after that innings and told me to play according to the situation of the match,” he added.
But Sarfaraz was run out cheaply for 1 against Delhi Daredevils leading to Bangalore’s loss.
“These things keep happening. Kohli didn’t tell me anything after that,” said the right-handed Bombay-bred batsman.
Sarfaraz will go through diverse sentiments when he takes guard at the Wankhede Stadium against Kohli’s side. He learnt cricket in Bombay but isn’t a part of the Ranji team or the franchise.
Sarfaraz earned his maiden Mumbai cap last year but moved to Uttar Pradesh for the next domestic season.
“I have stopped thinking Mumbai. All I know now is how to rotate strike when batting with a senior player,” he said.
