Brothers Sarfaraz and Musheer Khan: Divided by circumstance, united by ambition

After starting its Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign with a bang against Sikkim, courtesy of an 155 by Rohit Sharma, several Mumbai players decided to take it a bit easy and skip the optional training session ahead of its second fixture against Uttarakhand, starting Friday.

But not brothers Sarfaraz and Musheer Khan, who promptly hit the nets at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday.

Having made his List A debut the day before and forging an 85-run partnership for the second wicket with Rohit, the young Musheer is buoyed by confidence. His elder brother Sarfaraz, meanwhile, has another opportunity to register a performance that he needs to strengthen his comeback bid to the Indian team.

A memorable outing in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), where he amassed 329 runs, helped Sarfaraz earn an IPL contract with Chennai Super Kings and underline his adaptability across formats.

After a slump in the early phases of the Ranji Trophy, ‘cutting out the noise’ helped him regain his mojo and play freely. A natural strokemaker, Sarfaraz has also given his fitness added attention over the past few months.

Musheer is dealing with a learning curve of his own, as he picks up as much as possible from his brother and seniors like Rohit, while also putting in head-turning performances now and then. Despite some big scores in the Ranji Trophy, Musheer had to warm the bench in the SMAT as Mumbai accommodated India internationals Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube.

Captain Shardul Thakur, without hestitation, pointed to the much-celebrated Mumbai mentality. “Whenever the quality (India) players come and play, the guys who are either not in form or slightly junior will have to make way for these guys,” he said, adding: “As a Mumbai team, we have always kept the team ahead of an individual…”

That said, Musheer did not lose hope. He followed a strict routine and was ready for any opportunity.

This readiness and the big-picture perspective of ‘team over individual’ is what keeps the brothers going.

Sarfaraz, who has found himself out of favour with the Indian thinktank, knows his only way of making it back to the Indian dressing room is by piling on the runs and catching the attention of the selectors again. For Musheer, a different kind of patience is the mandate; it’s about not losing hope and proving a point whenever there’s a chance.

While their destinations are the same, the brothers traverse vastly different circumstances. But the immediate task remains common – to keep their head down and work hard.

Aware that it’s perhaps going to take a bit more time than they may like, they are willing to wait and let the willow do the talking. 

Published on Dec 25, 2025