Sky’s the limit for hard-hitting batsman
IT IS early days in his cricket career, but Farhaan Sayanvala certainly has the potential to reach the top.
The 20-year-old from Johannesburg was part of the South Africa team that won the Hong Kong Sixes recently after they beat a star-studded Pakistan in the final.
It was a competition which favoured the aggressive and hard-hitting batsman, who proved to be one of
South Africa’s stand-out performers.
The fast-paced version of the game is played on a small field with batsmen forced to retire once they reach a score of 31.
Three times out of five, the man they call Fudgie bludgeoned his way to retirement, smashing six after six into the Hong Kong sky.
“It was an incredible tournament for me. It is about having fun and expressing yourself and I am happy that I was able to play my natural game,” Sayanvala said.
He was called up to the team, coached by former Proteas batsman, Ashwell Prince, after good form at the recent Africa T20 Cup for Gauteng.
“I could not believe it when I got the call,” Sayanvala said.
“To play the way we did against top international players like Sohail Tanveer and Mohammad Sami in the final was great.”
The youngster has enjoyed a steady rise since finishing school at St Johns College in 2015.
His good performances in the Khaya Majola Coca-cola Week earned him a place in the SA Schools team.
Just a few months later he landed a spot in the SA Under-19 team for the 2016 World Cup in Bangladesh.
“I first started playing cricket with my brother and cousins in our garage,” Sayanvala said. “I began to believe that I could make a career out of it after I made the provincial Under-19 side.”
Once he returned from the World Cup he earned his first taste of List-a cricket.
He continued: “My goal is to enjoy playing cricket for Gauteng and hopefully get a call up to the franchise team.
“The best thing I can do is focus on my own performances and hope that it gets noticed.”
While he has quickly developed a reputation for his outstanding T20 skills, Sayanvala believes he can also perform in the longer versions of the sport.
“I do not change the way I play in the longer formats,” he says. “If I see the ball, I hit it. I like keeping it simple.”
Outside cricket, Sayanvala is studying marketing management part-time at the University of the Witwatersrand.
“My parents have been very supportive and that helps me a lot. Their belief in me is what drives me.”