"Let him fail first" - Sourav Ganguly urges critics to give Sarfaraz Khan a chance before passing a judgment on his batting skills in Australia

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly reckons that it is unfair to pass a judgment on Sarfaraz Khan's overseas batting skills without giving him a chance. He stated that critics should form an opinion only about him after watching him bat in Australia during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Sarfaraz made an impressive Test debut for India earlier this year after he was rewarded for some exceptional performances in domestic cricket. The 27-year-old notched up his maiden Test ton against New Zealand in Bengaluru, but looked out of sorts in the remaining two matches of the series.

A number of cricket experts reckon that the Mumbai batter does not have the technique to survive in Australian conditions. Speaking to Revsportz, Ganguly questioned the logic behind the conclusion and commented:

"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," the 52-year-old went on to add.

Sarfaraz is a contender for one of the middle-order slots during the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. He could be competing for a place with KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel.

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Sarfaraz Khan's performance in Test cricket so far

In six Test matches so far, Sarfaraz has scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10, with one hundred and three fifties to his name. The right-handed batter scored 62 and 68* on his Test debut against England in Rajkot in February 2024. He was looking for a much bigger score in the first innings, but was run out following a mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja, who was batting on 99*.

After failing in the next Test in Ranchi, he notched up a handy 56 in the final match of the series against England in Dharamsala. The Mumbai cricketer was dismissed for a duck in the first innings against New Zealand in Bengaluru, but smashed 150 in the second. In his next four innings in the series, though, he registered scores of 11, 9, 0, and 1.