The catch of a lifetime

Sarfraz Ahmed is all set to tie the knot on May 19

KARACHI: It’s 1:45am and the bass of music playing in a two-storey house on the street steers us in the right direction. “And we twist. We twist. We twist …,” from the film Love Aaj Kal, plays, interestingly reminding us of the twist of fate the life of the man we are set to visit, has taken on the professional front.

Inside, people come and go, with the hustle and bustle reminiscent of, if not at par with, the raving welcome he received on returning to Pakistan from the ICC Cricket World Cup. After a ‘wicket’ spell at the tournament, Sarfaraz Ahmed is set to take a step ahead in his personal life, as he prepares to tie the knot with student Khushbakht Aftab on May 19.

After a wait that lasted for nearly two hours, Sarfaraz arrives after running last-minute errands for the wedding, including a sherwani trial with designer Humayun Alamgir. Sliding in a few jokes about how he hopes his side matches up to the larki wala’s dance routines, he seems quite excited about his Mehndi ceremony.

Alamgir, who has made Sarfaraz’s sherwani and suit for his wedding and valima, tells The Express Tribune about the design aesthetics. He has opted for beige for the sherwani and a shade of blue for the suit to beat the summer heat. Alamgir has even incorporated Sarfaraz’s jersey number, 54, into his sherwani. “I’ve added 54 boxes to the sleeves of the sherwani, which features intricate handwork in gold.”

Being among the few Pakistani cricketers, who emerged from an average World Cup campaign with their reputation intact, Sarfaraz tells us that his marriage is an arranged one and describes how he has had to reschedule it due to professional commitments. He says his wedding was initially going to take place in June. “The series with Sri Lanka had been scheduled, so we had to push the wedding to May-end, but now the Zimbabwe series is coming up. So, May 19 and 25 have now been finalised for our wedding events.”

For a wicket-keeper, Sarfaraz seems to have his hands full, as he will move from being a domestic player for the Karachi Dolphins to a married man to an international cricketer against Zimbabwe – all over a span of a few days. And with the upcoming Pakistan-versus-Zimbabwe series, it would not be wrong to suggest that it would be a challenge for Sarfaraz to juggle between his professional and personal commitments. “I haven’t experienced all this, but when I see other married cricketers, I realise it’s a little difficult,” he says. “But when one takes up a sport like this professionally, one has to manage all these things, so I’ll also try to manage them to the best of my ability,” he adds.

Vocal behind the stumps, Sarfaraz seems to be the polar opposite of his persona on the field. Despite having garnered a massive fan-following after his stint at the World Cup, Sarfaraz shares he was never approached by any female fans, contrary to popular belief. "Main intezaar karta reh gaya … lekin kuch hua nahi" ("I waited, but nothing of the sort happened") he quips.

Rumours had been rife that Sarfaraz was involved with television artist Neelam Muneer, after she sang his praises on a local talk show. Discrediting the news, Sarfaraz says he has never met Neelam and that her statements were entirely misconstrued. “She just praised my performance as a cricket fan. It was nothing that it was being made out to be,” he clarifies.