Ravichandran Ashwin calls the Indian player who ‘could be the king of the subcontinent’. Not Shubman Gill

suddenly, Sarfaraz Khan He came back into the conversation. After spending most of the last two years outside the national team, Sarfaraz Khan received a call-up for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka after Sai Sudarsan He failed to regain fitness in time. Sarfaraz last played for India against New Zealand in November 2024, a series that saw India lose for the first time at home in 12 years. The defeat was also India’s first ever whitewash on home soil. He made his Test debut earlier that year against England at home.

Sarfraz was also named in India’s squad for the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour of Australia but did not get a cap. In six Tests and 11 innings for India, he scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10, including a century and three fifty, with a best score of 150.

There is a buzz about whether Sarfaraz should be preferred over or not Dhruv Gurel In an intermediate role. India is great Ravichandran Ashwin Says the Indian team management led by Captain Shubman Gill And the main coach Gautam GambhirHe should communicate properly with Sarfaraz.

“I will start with Gurriel. Sarfaraz came into the team because of Sai Sudarsan’s injury. The message is very important for Sarfaraz. If you feel he is a suspect in certain conditions, you need to give him clarity. You have to tell him that he can serve the team in sub-continent conditions,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, Ash Ki Baat.

“This way, even Sarfaraz won’t waste his time on the rest of the things. He can focus on playing well, and he can become the king of conditions in the subcontinent. He can build his career. If you feel he can’t work in certain conditions, let him know.”

Meanwhile, former India batsman WV Raman said he would prefer Sarfaraz Khan over Dhruv Gurriel in the playing XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka, starting with Galle on Saturday, citing the visitors’ need for a front-line batsman in the middle order who can attack the hosts’ bowling line-up.

India must fill two vacant slots from a pool of three players: Devdutt PadikkalGurriel and Sarfaraz as they open their series against Sri Lanka. With Padikkal expected to finish third in the absence of P Sai Sudharsen, the remaining contest will be between Gurel and Sarfaraz.

“I tend to think that in a Test match, you would have to go for a specialist. Dhruv Gurel has done a good job as a wicket-keeper. He’s got some runs. But that guy has done well too, the young boy Sarfaraz Khan. So, I think if you pick him in the side as a specialist batsman in Test cricket, I’d rather go with him.”

“But he’s also a very good spinner. He can be an attacking option. The other thing he’ll bring to the table is that he’s also a good catcher of close-in shots, and that’s probably the thing they’ll need, especially if Sri Lanka are on the path to transformation,” Raman told IANS in an exclusive conversation facilitated by Sony Sports Network on Thursday.

Both Gurriel and Sarfaraz made their Test debut against England in Rajkot in February 2024, and their journey has been very different since then. Jurel has been a regular in the setup as a wicket-keeping backup Rishabh Pant While also playing as a specialist batsman at times.

Meanwhile, a fitter Sarfaraz has been called up as a replacement for the injured Sudharsen, marking his return to the side after not being used during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia.

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