Sarfaraz Khan has completed rehabilitation for his quadriceps injury at the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. Having sustained the injury while playing for Mumbai in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament, Sarfaraz has been sidelined for over a month.
Sarfaraz Khan, fit at last
The 27-year-old, who seemed to be on the verge of a return to the Indian Test team, couldn’t play in the Duleep Trophy, the Irani Cup, or the India A vs Australia A series. His hopes for the India vs West Indies Test were also dashed due to the untimely injury.
According to the Times of India, a week before the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy begins, Sarfaraz has regained fitness. He was already named in Mumbai’s probables, but the final squad will be out on October 10. Sarfaraz should now be available for selection for Mumbai’s first match of the season against Jammu and Kashmir at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar.
IND vs SA Tests, the goal
Sarfaraz can now vie for the India vs South Africa Test series as well. By the time the tour commences on November 14, the experienced batter from Mumbai would have played four matches in the Ranji Trophy, fitness permitting.
Shreyas Iyer’s decision to take a red-ball break could also help him, as he won’t have much competition for a middle-order position. Devdutt Padikkal would be the only other contender, but he might have an edge since he is part of the squad for the West Indies Test series.
Sarfaraz had been dropped from India’s Test side for the England tour and has since worked on his fitness. He lost 17 kilograms to improve his game and has become a 2.0 version of himself. Run scoring has always been easy for him, but maybe his newfound level of fitness can take him to another level.
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