"In reality, I was overweight" - Sarfaraz Khan's candid admission ahead of NZ vs IND 2026 Tests

Discarded Team India batter Sarfaraz Khan candidly admitted that he was overweight and revealed why he worked on it last year. Asked about the 20 kilograms he shed last year, the Mumbai batter said the nudge came from outside the dressing room and that he listened.

"In reality, I was overweight. There is no doubt about that. No one told me that I had to lose weight. But I heard on social media, or from someone, that maybe I should lose weight. So I did it. Because whatever I hear, that I should work on something, I am doing that in my life. I can't do anything more than that," revealed Sarfaraz after the opening day of Mumbai's Ranji Trophy match against Railways (via ESPN Cricinfo).

The transformation was 97 kg down to 77 kg, built on a strict diet and training routine last year. Sarfaraz posted pictures of it on social media; they went viral, and the weight has stayed off.

His four innings this Ranji Trophy season read 1, 154, 40 and 55, an average of 62.50 heading into the rest of Mumbai's campaign.

"I am not thinking much" - Sarfaraz Khan on breaking back into the Indian team

Sarfaraz Khan admitted not thinking too much about returning to the Indian Test lineup and remains focused on working hard day in and day out. Sarfaraz's last Test was against New Zealand at the Wankhede Stadium in November 2024.

He sat out the whole Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, and when the selectors named the squad for the two Tests in New Zealand, at Wellington from November 19 and Christchurch from November 27, his name was not in it.

"So many things have happened. I am not thinking much. I wake up every morning and ask myself the same question: why should I work harder? I have played for India, but I wake up at 5 in the morning and go to train. So sometimes I get these questions in my head. But it's okay. When I see that my father is working hard and sweating it out, then it's okay. I will go and score for him. It motivates me to wake up every morning," said Sarfaraz (via the aforementioned source).

He added:

"It's not easy to play for India, especially in this generation. And it's not like I scored once or twice and played for India. I scored 300, 200, 250 [in domestic cricket] and worked hard and played for India. When it's off-season, I don't like to sit at home. I think I'm made for cricket."

Sarfaraz is also missing from the ongoing India A fixtures that serve as the warm-up for the upcoming New Zealand Test series.

Looking for fast live cricket scores? Download CricRocket and get fast score updates, top-notch commentary in-depth match stats & much more! 🚀☄️