Sarfaraz Khan reunited with Virat Kohli, this time as part of the Indian team, having previously played together for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Sarfaraz joined the Indian squad on Sunday after completing round two of the Duleep Trophy 2024. The 26-year-old reflected on his time at RCB and praised Kohli’s passion and spirit, calling it “unmatched.” From sharing the RCB dressing room to now being part of the Indian team, Sarfaraz expressed his excitement about the opportunity. He also recalled Kohli’s leadership and how he always stood by his words during team meetings.
“His (Virat Kohli’s) passion and spirit are unmatched. Whenever I saw him, even in the pre-match meetings, he would take charge and tell everyone how many runs he’d score off a particular bowler and break that down for everyone. To have the guts to stand up and talk with such positivity in front of everyone, and then deliver the next day, is a very unique ability,” Sarfaraz told Jio Cinema.
Sarfaraz was a part of the Bengaluru-based franchise from 2015 to 2018 and was even retained ahead of the IPL 2018 mega-auction. He recounted a special moment when the then-RCB skipper Kohli bowed to him after Sarfaraz scored an unbeaten 45 from 21 balls against Rajasthan Royals in a match that was later washed out.
“I met him at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium for the first time. I had scored 45 runs in 21 balls here, and he bowed to me. I had a lot of fun that day. It was a dream to share the Indian team dressing room with him, and it will come true in the future if I get the opportunity.”
Sarfaraz received his much-anticipated India call-up during the Test series against England earlier this year.
