A father-son dream comes true in Rajkot

For almost four months every monsoon, there's no cricket in Mumbai. The players use the time to do pre-season fitness training. But for one family, there is never any break. Whether it is rain, heat or humidity, the Khans-father Naushad, sons Sarfaraz and Musheer ensure that the game goes on. If it is rainy season in Mumbai, Sarfaraz and Musheer are taken to their ancestral home in Uttar Pradesh to train.

- Sanjjeev K Samyal and Rasesh Mandani

For instance, immediately after IPL 2023, with cricket ending in Mumbai, Sarfaraz headed to his village to prepare for Duleep Trophy. The routine set by his father-coach was gruelling-wake up at 3am, run from 4 to 5, gym from 5 to 6 and an hour dedicated to fielding practice. Evenings were reserved for three-hour net sessions. For match practice, Naushad drives his sons around to wherever he can arrange games in UP-distance doesn't matter.

When in Mumbai, the training has always been relentless. Even during the pandemic when the Mumbai team's camp was on, Sarfaraz's normal routine used to be to wake up at 5, bat at Cross Maidan (Karnataka SA) from 6 to 7, go to the Wankhede Stadium to train with the Mumbai team from 8.30am to 1pm. From 2pm to 4pm, he would train at home.

Only the venue shifts, the hours of training remain the same. Naushad first took Sarfaraz for practice to Azad Maidan at the age of six, where he would bat for hours. After the plot of pitches there came under the metro rail project, the training shifted to the adjacent Cross Maidan.