After countless match winning knocks, string of amazing performances, scoring truckload of runs and stamping his firm authority in domestic red ball circuit, finally Sarfaraz Khan makes his way in the Indian squad. The absence of Kohli, and injuries to Rahul and Jadeja prompted this welcoming decision to have a consistently performing red ball player in the squad. And the decision has garnered attention and positive response from the cricket crazy Indian fans, who hoped to see Khan in the squad a lot earlier. The teenage prodigy, who was considered the future star had to wait for a longer period of time than what was expected.

He hit the headlines for the right reasons, which he has a habit of doing since he was a teenager. Grown up in Mumbai circuit, and guided by his father who coached him, Sarfaraz did all the right things to go at the level he is today. And he hit the headlines first when at a mere age of 12 he scored 439 runs in a Harris Shield match, surpassing the previous record holder Sachin Tendulkar. And then onwards he went on to shatter many records at the school, club and domestic level circuit. With all what went past, it was evident that he was termed as the future big star for the team.

And living up to the hype of the admirers, he continued to up his game. He was a crucial part of the 2014 and 2016 U19 world cup squad for Indian team. With every passing year, his performance peaked even more. 2016 IPL saw him scooping a guy like Tim Southee, who had a total experience of Sarfaraz's age then. He got limited chances due to the start studded lineup of Kohli, Gayle and Ab De Villiers. But outshining the deadly trio on a few occasions, he made a strong statement. It was the most successful IPL for Kohli, and in a match the King applauded the youngster by bowing down to Sarfaraz after the later took RCB to a victory.

With all of these happening, and looking at the fearless batting approach of Khan, the entire country was hopeful than sooner or later he will make his mark at the international level as well. But what was supposed to happen sooner, eventually became far too later. He continued his form in domestic circuit, but failed to make his mark in the next seasons of IPL. And often his physique was made one of the unnecessary criterias for not selecting him in the national squad. In spite of him stating that he had cleared the fitness tests, the selectors kept ignoring him for a longer period of time.

Fortunately, the denial of selection didn't demoralize him, as he continued his purple vein of form for the past 3 years, and without hoping for the best he just tried to do what best he could on the field. And his efforts were finally realised by the selectors, who decided to give a green signal to him in the ongoing test series against England. Only time will tell whether he gets a chance in the playing eleven or not. But the entire nation is looking forward for him to make his debut, and do what he has done in the previous years in domestic circuit. The journey from a teenage prodigy to a test debutant was certainly a long one for him, but one might hope that his journey to greatness might take lesser time going ahead. We congratulate Sarfaraz for the selection, and wish that he makes the entire country proud in the ongoing series