Sarfaraz Khan receives a special gift from Virat Kohli after IPL exit

Indian cricket’s current hero Virat Kohli and the hero of the future, as hoped, Sarfaraz Khan share the same dressing room in the IPL, and the RCB captain had a special gift for the young man at the end of the campaign, which turned out to be a little disappointing for Sarfaraz.

Kohli has gifted Sarfaraz a bat and a pair of gloves in the aftermath of RCB’s defeat to SRH in the final, a gesture that can be expected to motivate the youngster after his limited involvement in the matches.

Sarfaraz reacted on Monday, “He (Kohli) told me to work hard. I think he’s given me the bow and arrow to help me conquer my target. This means a lot to me.”

He was awarded the CEAT U-19 Cricketer of the Year trophy on Monday, to be shared with Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan. On the sidelines of the event, he spoke about his involvement with RCB captain Virat Kohli. Something else he said also proves how much he has taken the fitness directive to heart.

Unlucky Sarfaraz determined to correct fitness

Sarfaraz Khan paid the price for Royal Challengers Bangalore’s star-studded batting line-up in IPL 9, getting only a spot very low down the order in only five matches, before being dropped to the bench. His fitness was cited as the reason why Sachin Baby was preferred over him for most of the season.

This was something that came to haunt the team management later, as Sarfaraz’s presence was sorely missed in the final, where a lower order batsman’s hard-hitting capabilities would have decidedly tipped the game in RCB’s favour.

The 18-year-old had finished as the second highest scorer in the U-19 World Cup earlier this year with 355 runs, but could not get his IPL tally into triple figures. However, a spark of life was seen in the limited opportunities that he got - his 35* took his team to victory against SRH in RCB’s first game of the season.

While fitness was the reason that he could not break into the playing XI, Sarfaraz claimed that he had lost 5kgs during his time with the RCB team this season. “Our trainer at RCB, Shankar Basu, has mailed me a fitness programme which I’ll adhere to,” said a determined Sarfaraz.

Suresh Raina , Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan & Rishabh Pant during CEAT Cricket awards 2016! pic.twitter.com/x73UUESkbP

— Rajesh Khilare (@Cricrajeshpk) May 30, 2016