Sarfaraz Khan isn't knocking on the Indian selection door anymore, he's banging it down

A specific quote comes to mind when we weigh up Sarfaraz Khan's incredible exploits in the recent past.

"I was telling the guys that you have to start banging the door down, it's not about knocking on the door."

Indian head coach Rahul Dravid said this after his side's T20 series against South Africa. The focus, in that particular situation, was on Dinesh Karthik's impressive performances in the series. The veteran may have just secured his place in India's squad in the upcoming T20 World Cup with his displays.

Meanwhile, a certain 24-year-old from Mumbai who is doing the hard yards in domestic cricket seems to have heard Dravid's message loud and clear. Sarfaraz Khan has been piling on runs for fun lately and is starting to show us what he's all about. More importantly and crucially, he's doing it on a consistent basis.

Legends of the game will often talk about the hunger and desire batters need to show when scoring their runs. Khan has shown those qualities in abundance.

He became only the third batter to score 900-plus runs in two different editions of the tournament, following the likes of Ajay Sharma and Wasim Jaffer. The Mumbai lad scored 928 runs in the 2019-2020 season and has already amassed 937 runs in the ongoing season.

With the 2020-2021 season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Khan is now the first player to achieve that feat in consecutive seasons. But it's not just the sheer amount of runs he has scored; it's also about when he's scored them this season.

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Sarfaraz Khan is the highest run-scorer in the Ranji Trophy this season

To follow up the 928-run season in 2019-20 with an even better 937-run outing this season speaks volumes about the serious consistency on display from Khan. What makes this feat even more impressive is the fact that he's managed to do so on either side of a COVID-hit season.

With an average of 82.76 in 23 matches, Sarfaraz Khan is third on the list for the highest average by a player who has scored over 2000 runs. Only Vijay Merchant (98.35) and Sachin Tendulkar (87.37) average more than Khan in that category. That's some elite company to be in.

To kick off the ongoing season, Khan smashed 275 runs against the defending champions Saurashtra. In their next game against Goa, Mumbai were left shell-shocked as they bundled out for 163 in the first innings. If it wasn't for Sarfaraz Khan's crucial knock of 63 to help his side recover from 30/3, their tournament may have been over then and there.

As it turns out, that game proved to be a major turning point for Mumbai's campaign. Surrending a lead of 164 runs in the first innings, the 41-time champions managed to turn things around in dramatic fashion. They sealed what seemed an improbable victory courtesy of Tanush Kotian's heroics in the second innings.

The Sarfaraz Khan show continued into the next round against Odisha as he piled on 165 runs in a bumper 277-run partnership alongside Armaan Jaffer. He followed that up with another big one, scoring 153 against Uttrakhand in a game where Suved Parkar stole the headlines with his 252.

In the semi-final against Bengaluru, Khan scored a quickfire 40 in the first innings, following it up with an unbeaten half-century to seal Mumbai's spot in the final. The 24-year old's dream run continued in the finals against Madhya Pradesh as he racked up another century.

This was the one that might have seemed to matter the most though. He ended the first day unbeaten on 40, steering Mumbai out of dangerous waters after they found themselves at 185/4 when he walked in to bat. In a crucial situation, Sarfaraz Khan bided his time, showing patience and discipline against the spinners as well as the pacers.

His partner Shams Mulani was dismissed early in the first session. This meant Khan still had to build an innings with the tailenders and that's what he did, in audaciously dominant fashion.

After completing his half-century, the 24-year old turned to his dressing room, gesturing to something along the lines of "I'm still here." What followed was a tremendous display of maturity and responsible batting, to which Madhya Pradesh had very few answers.

Sarfaraz Khan picked his moments to take on the spinners, also managing to hog strike as much as possible. What was even more impressive was the intent with which he switched gears.

He made his intentions clear with some massive hits, as well as some batting-smarts to pinch one's and two's, frustrating the opposition. Khan kept picking out pockets to convert singles into doubles, shielding Tushar Deshpande and the rest of the tail while keeping the scoreboard ticking.

Sarfaraz Khan eventually notched up the eighth hundred of his Ranji career. Plenty of emotion came along with the three-figure mark, with the Mumbai batter also paying tribute to late singer Sidhu Moosewala with his trademark celebration.

The youngster eventually perished for 134, which was came as a surprise if you look at his conversion numbers. In 34 innings, he has six 150-plus scores to his name in this longest format since the start of 2020, putting him level with England's Joe Root.

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An India call-up next in line for Sarfaraz Khan?

At the end of Day Two of the Ranji finals, Sunil Joshi, Harvinder Singh and some national selectors were spotted in a lengthy conversation with Sarfaraz Khan. However, he seemingly maintained that his focus is on continuing the hard work and scoring runs, and let his destiny take care of the rest.

Sarfaraz Khan is one of the current generation players who truly seems to enjoy the hard grafts of Test cricket. He's learned about the importance of spending some time in the middle. More crucially, he has got himself physically fit to ensure he can wear out the opposition bowlers without compromising on his game.

While he's putting up record-breaking numbers on the domestic circuit, it's important to remember that he is still only 24 years old. Khan is perhaps only scratching at the surface at the moment, which is a scary thought.

With the way he has been batting recently, Sarfaraz Khan isn't knocking on the Indian selection door, he is banging it down. In an ideal world, he should get some game-time under his belt with India A tours.

However, with those tours affected due to the pandemic as well, there isn't much scope for gametime there either. But with the kind of form he is showing, it would be a shame for the Indian selectors to let that go to waste.

Sarfaraz Khan has shown enough to suggest that he deserves the opportunity to take the step and embrace a new challenge. While there's plenty of competition for a spot in the Indian side, the team management could look to keep the youngster around the Test side. Doing so would allow him to learn from the seniors before getting an opportunity.

The Indian team management is already grooming the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill as a transition period could be in the offing soon. Perhaps it's time to add Sarfaraz Khan's name to their list.