Khan came to Mumbai in 1996 and joined the National Cricket Club that played in Division A in the city. He played in competitions such as the Kanga Cricket League, Comrade Shield and the Purshottam Shield with the team. Sandeep Mahadkar, Khan's captain during the time, recalled the latter's ability with the ball with an instance where he reverse swung a ball that had been bowled 50 overs with, bowling ten maiden overs and helping his team win a Comrade Shield game. His ability with the bat was recalled by another former teammate with who Khan put together a 102-run stand for ninth wicket making an unbeaten 62 runs taking his team home. His "jaw-dropping spells in the Purshottam Shield" culminated with the 7/74 performance against Shivaji Park Gymkhana in January 1997. he was later sent to the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai by Sudhir Naik, owner of the National Cricket Club. Impressed by his talent, the bowling coach there, T. A. Sekhar, pushed Khan to play for Baroda.