Perth [Australia], November 18 : Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly has come out in strong support of giving Sarfaraz Khan a fair chance in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. In response to questions about Sarfaraz's suitability for the challenging Australian conditions, Ganguly emphasized the importance of providing opportunities before passing judgment.
"You have to give him a chance to know. How can you say anything without giving him an opportunity? Let him fail first. He has scored tons of runs in domestic cricket and has earned his spot in the team. No one has given it to him. So don't write him off before you have given him a chance. Once you do so, then you will be in a position to judge. I am very clear - you must give him an opportunity to know how good or bad he is. Without doing so, don't pass judgment on him," Ganguly said while speaking to Revsportz
Ganguly's remarks highlight the necessity of testing players in diverse conditions to truly assess their capabilities, rather than pre-emptively dismissing their potential based on assumptions.
After the series opener in Perth on November 22, the second Test, featuring the day-night format, will take place under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10. Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18.
The traditional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the series' penultimate stage.
The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to a highly anticipated series.
India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.