After Sarfaraz Khan dazzled the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru to register his first Test century against New Zealand earlier this year, there have been eyebrows raised onto the possibility of taking this budding batting sensation for the Australian tour that comes very convenient in the later months of this November. But one former Australian player highlights one of the major drawbacks in the young batsman’s batting style and that is a cause for concern where fast bowlers are concerned.
Former Australian leg spinner Brad Hogg was on his YouTube channel discussing Sarfaraz’s performance in the first Test. He mentioned the young man’s performance, in particular, ragging the New Zealand attack where he expertly used the fielders to hit his shots while still respecting the spinners.
“I have a soft corner for Sarfaraz Khan, this young kid. I loved the way he was driving off the back foot to the fast bowlers, cutting and playing around with the deep field, just working his timing and then ramping it up,” he said.
“He comes off as someone who has all the capabilities of a player who has probably been playing international cricket for quite some time. He is also very adept with the bat against the slow bowlers,” he continued.
Hogg appreciates the skills that Sarfaraz possesses but is however critical of the style of play that in his opinion would not work best for him in playing countries like even England, South Africa or Australia.
“It’s obvious that tour matches in England or South Africa, and more so, this tour here in Australia, which offers some bounce, well, he may get himself in some trouble on how he prepares to face the fast-bowler,” said Hogg.
“Those hands are very low. So, he’s got to bring them up and when it bounces a little bit, it’s going to be a little bit harder to adjust with the extra pace on those wickets. With those techniques, that is something that he might look out for and just have a slight change in the technique before he gets down here to Australia,” he added.
It is also true that Sarfaraz has been playing in Indian conditions for a long time, and it is likely that even at this time, his game is oriented towards the subcontinental conditions. However, it must be noted that she has earned no right to consideration for inclusion in the Indian cricket team for the upcoming Australian series, which will mark the tour’s repeat defense of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the third time on Indian soil.
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