Musheer Khan of India during the U19 World Cup 2024

“We’re obsessed with cricket, day and night. That’s all we have been doing since childhood”.

That, in one line, describes the Khan brothers. Sarfaraz, 26, is already a Test player. Musheer, eight years younger, is now deep into the grind.

The two will stride out together in the Duleep Trophy for Team B, just like they do for Mumbai, and just like they hope to for India.

For many, the first sight of Musheer, the batter, would have come through this year’s U19 World Cup. An instant hit in the India blue, Musheer blazed his way to second on the tournament’s run-getters list. The manner of batting matched his brother in many ways: an ultra-crouched stance, an enviable bat-muscle connection, the habit of prancing around the crease, and the sweep – conventional and reverse.

And of course, the stare-back-at-you eyes.

Also read: Why the 2024 Duleep Trophy could be one of the best editions in recent times

But that’s just one half of Musheer’s life. The other half is left-arm spin, right out of his father’s playbook, and also inspired, in part, by Daniel Vettori.

“I started playing leather-ball cricket when I was four or five”, Musheer tells Wisden. “When our father played, he did so with a lot of vigour and passion. We try to play just like him”.

When Musheer had entered school, and started playing the Kanga League – one of the toughest in Mumbai Cricket – his father [and coach] Naushad moved one level down to play alongside his son. By then, Sarfaraz had gone through the rigour, making his Mumbai and IPL debut.

At ten, Sarfaraz had become the youngest to play in the Kanga League. Musheer broke his record at eight. At that point, he had already managed to dismiss Yuvraj Singh in an exhibition game.

It followed the template Musheer had set as a six-year-old, becoming the youngest to play the prestigious inter-school Giles Shield. Holding his own against Under-14 boys, he claimed six on debut.

Today, Musheer is a first-class player at 19, playing with the big boys in the Duleep Trophy Team B squad that boasts of, apart from Sarfaraz, eight international players.

Sarfaraz’s path to glory is now well-documented, and Musheer is on his way too.

“We wake up at 5am,” Musheer says of his daily routine. “By 5.30 or 6am, we leave for the ground. Around 6.30-6.40am, we start practice when the sun is out and the nets are up. From 7-9am, we do one round of batting and bowling, where I get to bowl at Sarfaraz.”

Warm-up over.

“There are plenty of matches going on in Cross Maidan and Azad Maidan. If there’s a ‘healthy’ game, we end up playing it. We either play the whole game, or play a part of it. If we’ve got our Mumbai team training at the Bandra-Kurla Complex, we probably bat from 11am to 12pm, and leave by 12.30.

“If we’re playing the entire game, if it ends at 4pm, we practise again from 4pm to 6pm, and only then head for home.”

If you’re wondering where’s the time to work on their diets, Musheer swears by his mother’s home-cooked healthy food.

“At the ground, we don’t have enough facilities for good food, but we try to eat as much nutrition as possible,” he says.

“We basically live the entire day at the ground,” Musheer coolly adds, estimating to face at least 1,000 balls each day.

This yielding of life to cricket bore fruit when Musheer, captaining the Mumbai U16s, smashed a double-century in the 2018/19 Vijay Merchant Trophy.

Giles Shield, Kanga League, U16… Musheer was spearing through everything.

***

Just months later, though, euphoria turned into shock, when Musheer was suspended by the MCA for three years over an incident of misconduct involving another player. As Musheer dealt with the consequences of the ban, his father kept him motivated by citing examples of Steve Smith and David Warner’s comebacks.

Fortunately for him, the ban was lifted within a year. Upon his comeback, Musheer plucked 30 wickets in four matches, and hasn’t looked back since.

The cycle was complete earlier this year, when he batted at No.3 during Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy winning run. “It’s a position where legends have batted,” Musheer says. “It’s a really proud achievement for me”.

It wasn’t exactly a smooth start to the big league. At 17, he got his big break in the Mumbai Ranji team, but could manage only 96 runs across his first five innings.

“When I came in the first year, there was a bit of a technical problem with my batting, and also my confidence was low. When it went a little bad, Abbu [father] really put in hard work on me, trying to iron out the technical issues that led to those three indifferent games.

“I didn’t think a lot about the past and future, it was all about figuring out how I could get out of that fix. I learnt a lot from that period.”

Musheer’s growth tells you a lot about India’s domestic system: over the next year, he racked up serious amounts of game time, switching between different levels. It gave his batting rhythm a kick, and prepped by a network of national-level coaches, put him back into his second Ranji season with his confidence amplified.

“The advantage this time was that I played the Vinoo Mankad Trophy (U19), then went to the National Cricket Academy camp, which was a big learning curve. I was guided by VVS Laxman (head of NCA), Hrishikesh Kanitkar (coach of the U19 team) and Sairaj Bahutule (now India’s assistant coach). Those three handled me really well.

“There was the Quadrangular series [India U19 A & B, England U19, Bangladesh U19], the [junior] Asia Cup, the U19 World Cup. At the same time, our own practice continued. So there was just no gap.

“I came into the Ranji Trophy directly after the World Cup, so I was on a different level of confidence, having scored runs there. The red ball works slightly differently, but it didn’t matter much. I practised for about a week (between the World Cup and Ranji Trophy)”.

“Abbu always prefers practising with a red ball, irrespective of whether we’re playing a long-format game or limited-overs.

“It didn’t matter much, it was easy. Barring some nerves, I was in such good touch that it just clicked.”

The result? Musheer thumped a double-century from No.3: the occasion was a Ranji quarter-final, only his fourth first-class game. Batting for 357 deliveries, he ended with 203 in an innings where there was only one other fifty.

He levelled it up in the final, standing firm with a 326-ball 136 in the second innings, the only centurion from Mumbai in the game. It helped them set a title-winning score, and earned applause from all quarters, including a special figure in the stands: Sachin Tendulkar.

“I felt so happy [seeing him]”, Musheer recalls. “I was batting on 60 or 70, when I suddenly spotted him on the big screen. Sachin sir was sitting, a few other bigwigs were sitting too. I was so happy seeing him. I wanted to stay longer just for him to watch me bat.”

For the star-struck Musheer, it brought back memories from a decade ago. “When I was eight or nine, I won a bowling prize for the Kanga League. I’d picked 25 wickets in six matches, and he’d presented me with a Maharashtra Cricket Association award. Otherwise, I’d only briefly crossed paths at the Bandra-Kurla Complex.”

There was no appreciation bigger than seeing his idol watch him play, the roles reversing from a decade and a half ago. Poetic as it may be, he broke Tendulkar’s 29-year-old record with the knock, becoming Mumbai’s youngest centurion in a Ranji final.

***

After ten first-class innings, Musheer averages 58.77. Red-ball success is on its way, and his father is ensuring he stays rooted to the basics of the game.

“Our father has conditioned us to score big,” Musheer says. “For us, our century starts at 150. He’s told us to play our shots after reaching that milestone. We need to play the whole day, stay at the wicket. And we’re very hungry for runs.

“I don’t really play much T20s at the moment. Even in age-group, I had more one-day matches.

“Abbu says that the first 20-25 overs of a one-day match are similar to a red-ball match. The ball moves around a bit: just like we take time to settle with the red ball, we should do the same with the white ball.

“Even if you see my World Cup innings, I took a lot of time at the start, but scored runs later. I attacked only after the 40-45th over.

“That’s why we practise with a red ball to make it difficult for us. My dad believes that, the more difficult our practice is, the easier we’ll find matches to be.”

But he’s not going to exclusively remain a red-ball player. As Musheer says “I need to practise hitting sixes too”.

The blueprint is already in place: last November, in an Under-19 Quadrangular series, Musheer smashed a 47-ball 127 not out – including 13 sixes – for India U19 against India U19 B.

To turn them into all-format players, Naushad takes Sarfaraz and Musheer through a multi-format match simulation day. “We practise all three formats in one day, ” Musheer explains.

“From 9am to 12pm, we practise with the red-ball, with slips and fielders in the circle. It’s all classic shots and leaving the ball. After lunch, we shift to white-ball practice from 2 to 3.30pm. From 3.30pm to 5pm, it’s T20 practice: specifically six-hitting.”

Musheer knows it’s too early in his career to worry too much about an IPL contract. Neither him, nor Sarfaraz, earned contracts in 2024, even though they kept practising with the hopes of landing a replacement player stint.

“If not this year, then we keep practising, keeping it at the back of the mind for next year,” he says with determination.

It’s no secret that Naushad has cultivated the India dream within his two sons, building, breaking, and rebuilding them in their quest for the ultimate prize. Musheer is “proud” of his brother playing for India, admitting both he and the rest of the family were “very emotional” on debut.

“I also want to play as soon as possible, and I need to realise our father’s dream,” he says.

But Musheer promises that his family’s dreams and ambitions don’t burden him, but only empower him to go all the way.

“I don’t take much pressure [of expectations] as such, but there’s a bit of nervousness. When I go past the ropes, it doesn’t really matter to me. The backing from our family really infuses confidence in me.”

At the end of it all, there’s only one thing he wants to give back to his father.

“We play so that we can realise his dream. We play so that he stays happy”.

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