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'Like Unadkat, Karun...': Sunil Gavaskar gives advice to Sarfaraz Khan after Test exclusion
The BCCI has announced India's Test squad for the England series, with Shubman Gill as captain and Rishabh Pant as vice-captain. Notably, Sarfaraz Khan and Shreyas Iyer were left out despite being part of the plans in the previous cycle. This has prompted Sunil Gavaskar to share advice for Sarfaraz's future. read more
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday announced the Indian squad for their five-match Test series against England. The news marked the beginning of a new era in Indian Test cricket with Shubman Gill as captain and Rishabh Pant as his deputy. This comes after senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from Test cricket.
But while fans are excited to see fresh faces in charge, many were left surprised after the squad was revealed. Some big names were missing, including that of Mohammed Shami. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer and Sarfaraz Khan were also left out from the squad even though many expected them to be included. Both these players were part of the Test plans in the previous World Test Championship cycle.
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Gavaskar's advice to Sarfaraz
Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar spoke about Sarfaraz's situation in an interview with India Today. He encouraged the 27-year-old to stay patient and keep working hard. Gavaskar pointed to players like Jaydev Unadkat and Karun Nair, who were also dropped early in their careers but made comebacks by doing well in domestic cricket.
'Even Jaydev played his first Test at a very young age, and then it took 13 years or so to play another Test. He persevered, he went on picking wickets in domestic cricket. Like Unadkat, Karun has kept on scoring big hundreds. That's why the selection committee had to bring him back. A man in form is one of your best bets. He is scoring runs, he also got the experience of County Championships. A very good call to bring him back to Indian cricket,' Gavaskar.
'It's tough, that's what cricket is all about. When you get opportunities, you have to make sure the place is yours. Even if you score a hundred, you should make sure that you don't go into your next innings thinking you scored a hundred in the previous knock. You have to get your eye in and get those runs again. You must not give anybody a chance to push you out of the team,' he added.
Karun Nair last played a Test match eight years ago. He was included in the Indian Test side after solid performances in domestic cricket. Meanwhile, Sarfaraz recently made headlines for his amazing fitness transformation. He lost 10 kgs after he completely changed his diet. Despite all this hard work he missed out on the Test selection.
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