"It has become 1.5 million" - Sarfaraz Khan opens up on growing fame post sensational India debut

After a truckload of runs in domestic cricket, Sarfaraz Khan finally made his Test debut for India during the recently concluded series against England and has proven that he has what it takes to be successful at the international level as well.

Sarfaraz has been one of the players that most of the Indian fans were rooting for as he had to wait a long time for his maiden call-up despite having multiple prolific domestic seasons.

Speaking to India Today, Sarfaraz Khan gave a cheeky response to how he has been handling the fame post a successful series. He said:

"For the last 4 years, it was 600-700k followers on Instagram. Suddenly, after playing for India, it has become 1.5 million. It's good."

In three games for India, Sarfaraz scored 200 runs with three half-centuries at an average of 50 and an impressive strike rate of 79.36. Two of his three half-centuries came in his debut Test at Rajkot.

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Sarfaraz Khan on importance of Test cricket

Sarfaraz Khan credited his father Naushad for pushing him towards becoming a professional cricketer and helping him realize his dream of playing for India. He has been pretty vocal about how his father has motivated him over the years and believes Test cricket is the most special format.

On this, Sarfaraz stated:

"From my childhood, I have been hearing stories about the importance of Test cricket. My father kept telling me the importance of the longest format of the game. It's not like there was no pressure, I felt pressure when playing my maiden series."

Sarfaraz went unsold in the IPL 2024 auction after having a modest season with the Delhi Capitals last year. However, with injuries always being a possibility in such a long tournament, the right-hander may receive a call-up at some point as a replacement.