Sunil Gavaskar's Emotional Pep Talk For Sarfaraz Khan After England Tour Snub: 'Break The Doors Down'

Sarfaraz Khan failed to make the cut as the BCCI named an 18-member squad for the upcoming England tour. Under Shubman Gill's leadership, the Indian team will embark on a five-match Test series.

Sunil Gavaskar's Emotional Message For Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz was included in the India A squad for the England tour but didn't find a place in the Test squad. He was a part of the Indan squad which toured Australia last year, but he didn't get to play a game. The 27-year-old made his Test debut against England on home soil and showed his compatibility with fifty in each of the innings. He went on to score a valiant 150 against New Zealand, but the selectors preferred Karun Nair over him.

Sunil Gavaskar advised Sarfaraz not to lose hope and to continue his hard work in a bid to reclaim his place in the Test squad.

In an interaction with India Today, he said, "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."

"It's entirely up to you to ensure you cement that spot. You need to keep knocking on the doors and break the doors down."

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England Pose A Tricky Challenge For Team India

This will be the first time in the last many years that India will be involved in a Test series without their star trio of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. The likes of Sai Sudharsan and Yashasvi Jasiwal do have the pedigree to thrive in challenging conditions, while in Arshdeep Singh, India have a left-arm pacer who could be dangerous in English conditions. Captain Shubman Gill cannot take things for granted and needs to have a solid base to move forward.