Wonderkids' father installs net in their backyard to ensure sons can practise till late evening
In this age of fierce competition, every moment is precious for budding cricketers. Only a few fortunate make the cut.
Musheer Khan practises under lights at the Bombay Taximen’s Colony in Kurla. Pics/Amit Jadhav
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Talent alone is not enough to take one to the top. Hard work, dedication and commitment are equally important. That’s the reason, Naushad Khan, father-cum-coach of wonder kids Sarfaraz and Musheer, has erected a floodlit net in their backyard at the Bombay Taximen’s Colony in Kurla — in a bid to make every moment count and ensure his sons can practice till late in the evening.
“I have set up this net to ensure the boys get proper practice facilities at home. During the day, they train at the ground but in the evening they have some free time which they can utilise to train here,” Naushad told MiD DAY.
Sarfaraz Khan
The net that has an imported artificial astroturf was installed in June and cost Naushad Rs 66,000 which he is paying in installments.
Sarfaraz recently made his debut for India in the U-19 category, while eight-year-old prodigy Musheer hogged the limelight with his impressive left-arm spin in Mumbai tournaments. A couple of weeks ago, Musheer became the youngest player to debut at the Dr HD Kanga Cricket League.
The duo, thanks to some impressive performances at their young age, also made it to the 2012 edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, considered to be the bible of cricket.
Home ground: The imported astroturf-laden net facility
Musheer’s analysis of 8-5-11-6 on debut in the U-14 Giles Shield inter-school tournament for Anjuman-I-Islam (English) is mentioned in the Almanack, while Sarfaraz found a place in the book for the 439 runs he scored for Rizvi Springfield in 2009 surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s school record of 326 in the Harris Shield tournament.
Naushad approached the society members with the idea earlier this year. “Sarfaraz was consistently playing well, so I requested the members to permit my sons to practice late in the evening.
I suggested having an enclosed net facility so that there is no destruction to property. Thankfully, looking at Sarfaraz’s progress, they agreed. I am grateful to the secretary Abdul Rub Siddhique and all our colony members,” said Naushad.u00a0
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