Sanjay Manjrekar was effusive in his praise for Sarfaraz Khan after the youngster smashed a belligerent half-century in India's second innings in the first Test against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, October 18. The Mumbai batter didn't get an opportunity to play against Bangladesh in the preceding series after producing some impressive performances against England earlier this year. However, after Shubman Gill was ruled out of the first Test due to neck stiffness, it opened the door for Sarfaraz's comeback, and the right-handed batter didn't disappoint. Also Read | Shakib’s Test Career Ended Without A Farewell As BCB Announces His Replacement In the first inning, in testing conditions, Sarfaraz tried to break the shackles with an aerial shot but was caught at mid-off. He could only manage a three-ball duck in the inning. However, that didn't deter his spirits, as he played some awe-inspiring strokes in the second innings against the potent New Zealand bowlers on Day 3 and raced to 70 off 78 balls at Stumps. The former cricketer compared the young Indian batter with legendary player Javed Miandad from Pakistan. He also stated that Sarfaraz Khan was always brilliant against spin, but he was really good against the pacer as well. “He (Sarfaraz) reminds me of a Javed Miandad of the 1980s but this is a 2024 version of a Javed Miandad. Really impressed with the way he played. We know Sarfaraz plays spin well, but I liked the way he played fast bowlers,” Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo. “And towards the end of the (third) day's play when he was looking to play defensively and wanting bad light when there was actually bright light. I loved the way he was ducking to bouncers, just trying to play the day out so he has that game as well and that augurs well for India and Sarfaraz Khan for Australia because he has shown that element of batting as well,” Manjrekar added.