"He is going to give migraines to those fast bowlers" - Sanjay Manjrekar excited with the prospect of Sarfaraz Khan batting in Australia

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar is excited at the prospect of watching Sarfaraz Khan taking on Australia's fast bowlers during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Down Under, which begins in November. While the middle-order batter is yet to play a Test away from home, Manjrekar reckons that the right-hander has the technique and the temperament to do well in Australian conditions.

Sarfaraz notched up his maiden Test ton on Day 4 of the first Test against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, October 19. The 26-year-old smashed 150 off 195 balls, hitting 18 fours and three sixes.

While analyzing the Mumbai batter's knock, Manjrekar opined that the knock puts him in contention for a place in the playing XI during India's tour of Australia.

He told ESPNcricinfo:

"I was very happy to see the way he played fast bowling. He's played fast bowling before as well against England, but this was a pitch which was very similar to some of the foreign pitches that we get, where there is a bit of pace and bounce."

"Interestingly, I am imagining him on a flatter pitch in Australia, where there isn't much of seam movement. If there is seam movement, the Australian bowlers will pitch the ball up, that's the length he's got to work on. Anything that is short of length outside the off stump, he is going to give migraines to those fast bowlers," the 59-year-old went on to add.

Describing Sarfaraz as someone who seems to have a tremendous eye and great hand-eye coordination, Manjrekar elaborated on why he is waiting to watch the batter play in Australia.

"His technique isn't bad for Australia because he plays besides the line of the ball, which is always advantageous. I'll be very excited to see how he goes. He's a definite candidate, should walk into that Indian playing XI at five," the former India cricketer concluded.

Sarfaraz was dismissed for a duck in the first innings against New Zealand but made amends with a brilliant hundred in the second essay.

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Sarfaraz has made an excellent start to his Test career

While these are still very early days in Sarfaraz's Test career, the 26-year-old has made an excellent start. The hard-hitting batter from Mumbai has 350 runs from seven innings, averaging 58.33.

The middle-order batter scored 62 and 68* on debut against England in Rajkot. In the fifth and final Test of the same series, he contributed a handy 56 as India thumped England by an innings and 64 runs.