Sarfaraz Khan. Picture - Suresh KK (mid-day.com)
Sarfaraz Khan already has a plan in place for the Rs 50 lakh paycheque that will come his way after he was bought for that whopping sum by Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction yesterday.
Sarfaraz (17), who was the youngest to enter the IPL auction yesterday in Bangalore, is planning to buy a car for his father Naushad.
It is not to show off the rise in their standard of living, but to provide his father safety. "My father was critically injured in an accident in 2010. He fractured his right shoulder and had to be operated upon.
I was scared for him. I had thought then that whenever I make some money, I will buy a car for him. I tried in between to save some money, but it wasn't sufficient.
I plan on buying an SUV for him now," Sarfaraz told mid-day from Vizag, where he is playing a West Zone U-19 match. Sarfaraz was part of the 2014 India U-19 World Cup squad and made his Ranji Trophy debut for Mumbai this season.
Unsafe journeyTill now, Sarfaraz's father, who is also a cricket coach, would ride on his motorbike from their Kurla residence to Azad Maidan daily to take his two sons - Sarfaraz and Musheer - for practice sessions. Sarfaraz would ride pillion and his younger brother Musheer sneaked in between the two. The two kit bags along with them on that bike made the travel unsafe.
"I know it is very dangerous to commute like this, but trains are not safe either. There was no other option to reach for practice sessions on time. And after the accident, there is constant pain in my father's knees. I wanted to provide him a comfortable mode of travelling," said Sarfaraz.