National chief selector and last season’s chairman of Mumbai selection panel Sandeep Patil reckons Khan, who will bat for Uttar Pradesh next season, is a Virender Sehwag-like impact player
Current national chief selector and former chairman of the Mumbai selection committee, Sandeep Patil has termed city-based India under-19 batsman Sarfaraz Khan’s decision to parade his skills for Uttar Pradesh from next season as a “big loss” for Mumbai cricket.
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Sarfaraz Khan
Patil quit as chairman of Mumbai selectors last season in which 17-year-old Sarfaraz played three first-class games. “It’s his decision (to move) and I can’t comment on it. I wish him luck,” he said.
“Sarfaraz is a rare breed,” said Patil. “He’s a street smart batsman with enormous talent. Last season, I told him that he was the future and we (selectors) were looking at him to be a regular member of the Ranji Trophy team.”
Sandeep Patil
When asked to elaborate on why he thought Sarfaraz was a rare talent, Patil stressed: “He’s an in impact player. You need players like Cheteshwar Pujara and (KL) Rahul but you also need impact players. Sarfaraz is in the Virender Sehwag mould.”
Patil himself shifted from Mumbai to Madhya Pradesh as a professional and led the Central India state from 1988 to 1993. His last first-class game for Mumbai was in 1986 — against the visiting Australian team at Gwalior.