Sarfaraz Khan may have failed to impress the selectors in his recent red-ball outings, comprising two appearances in the Buchi Babu tournament last year, and on Thursday, the opening day of the 2024 Duleep Trophy, scoring just 9 off 35 for India B against the A team at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, but he was up from his seat, roaring and clapping in celebration as his brother Musheer smashed a ton on his debut in the tournament.

Musheer single-handedly led India B's recovery act after the side was put to bat first. Yashasvi Jaiswal and captain Abhimanyu Easwaran got off to a cautious start with their 33-run opening stand, before Avesh Khan opened the floodgates with the latter's dismissal, and together with left-armer Khaleel Ahmed and Akash Deep, reduced the B team to 94 for seven in 43.5 overs with each of the quicks picking two wickets.

Musheer, who made his first-class debut for Mumbai in December 2022, then combined with tail-ender Navdeep Saini to stitch an unbeaten 110-run stand and, en route, notched up his third first-class century, with 105 not out off 227, laced with 10 boundaries and two sixes.

The 19-year-old was ecstatic at reaching the triple-figure mark at the close of Day 1 in Bengaluru, and he celebrated aggressively. Sarfaraz, who led the celebrations in the dressing room, couldn't keep calm watching his younger brother's sensational act. He, along with the other players and the support staff, were on their feet to laud Musheer.

Musheer Khan matches Sachin Tendulkar, yet again!

With a century on Duleep Trophy debut, Musheer, also a Mumbai lad, matched the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. 33 years back, the two former India cricketers made their first-ever appearances in the domestic tournament, where they were pitted against each other in an epic match between West Zone and East Zone in Guwahati.

Sachin, then 17, who already had an international ton to his name, lived up to the expectations with a sensational 159. And Ganguly responded with a classy unbeaten 124.

This isn't the first time Musheer found his name associated with Sachin. Earlier in March, the 19-year-old had etched his name in history after shattering Sachin's record to become the youngest batter to score a ton in Ranji Trophy final in the presence of the India legend at the Wankhede Stadium. Sachin had previously scripted the record with an iconic 140 against Punjab at the age of 21 in the 994-95 Ranji Trophy final.

Musheer Khan announces his arrival

The Mumbai middle-order batter has shown a knack for stepping up in big tournaments or matches. Earlier this year, in the 2024 U-19 World Cup, the right-handed batter was the second-highest run-getter with 360 runs in seven matches, comprising two centuries in South African conditions.

Later, in the 2023/24 Ranji Trophy, he stepped up in the quarterfinal against Baroda to score his maiden first-class ton and converted it into a double century, before smashing a title-winning 136 in the final against Vidarbha.

Although still a long way to go, but the Mumbai middle-order batter could make an impact in the India selection process for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh.