The Indian men’s cricket team is all set to travel to Australia later this year to take part in a five-match Test series. The 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is scheduled to start on November 22 in Perth, and the next four matches will take place in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney. The BCCI selectors are yet to announce the squad for the tour Down Under. There are high chances that Sarfaraz Khan, who made his Test debut for India against England in Rajkot on February 15, 2024, and has scored a century in the second innings of the ongoing first Test against New Zealand in Bengaluru, will be picked in the Test side.
Sarfaraz is a middle-order batter, and with his recent performances, he has justified his selection in the playing XI. But despite his good performances with the bat, Sarfaraz has always faced criticism for his fitness. But ahead of the India tour of Australia, the 26-year-old right-handed batter has received support from wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant, who is helping him with his chef, to get fitter.
According to India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, to get fitter for the India tour of Australia, Sarfaraz has been using the services of a chef suggested by Pant.
“Sarfaraz is working on his fitness with the Indian team strength and conditioning coach, and Rishabh (Pant) has provided him with a chef who is taking care of his food. The intent is that by the time he reaches the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, his body is in better shape. Fitness is important in this sport. As he gets older, his body will change. He is working hard now; he will be fine in the future,” Suryakumar was quoted as saying by The Indian Express on Saturday.
The 34-year-old right-handed batter also defended Sarfaraz from unfair criticism over fitness and said his body type might make him look fat, but he is fit.
“His body type might make him look fat, but if you ask him to bat 450 balls and score double hundred, triple hundred, and Daddy hundred, he has that skill. I think the team has a similar demand to make big hundreds, play game-changing knocks… I have never seen him skipping practice, even on match day. If there is a game, he will get up at 5 am, bat for one hour near his home, and then join the team bus. After the game, he will go to the nearby ground and bat again,” Suryakumar added.
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