It has been much speculated that Sarfaraz Khan will be dropped from the playing XI when India take on Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series opener next Friday in Perth. However, former India captain Sourav Ganguly warned the Indian team management not to rush into conclusions and to give Sarfaraz an opportunity to prove his worth before deciding his fate.

Sarfaraz burst into the reckoning for a place in the Indian Test squad for the tour of Australia after he smashed a majestic 150 against New Zealand in the Bengaluru Test last month. The knock saw him replace KL Rahul in the subsequent matches against the Kiwis, but the Mumbai batter only managed 21 runs in the next four innings, including a duck, thus sparking concerns among experts over his potential in Australia conditions where he will be up against the likes of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

The speculation over Sarfaraz losing his place in the Perth opener further peaked after Dhruv Jurel, who did not get a game since his debut in the England home series earlier this month, scored back-to-back fifties for India A on a testing Melbourne track.

Speaking to RevSportz, Ganguly advised India to not write off Sarfaraz so early and allow him to prove himself before taking a call in his place in the XI.

“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.

'India will not be whitewashed'

Ganguly also shared his thoughts on India's chances in the Australia Test series after a humiliating whitewash at home against New Zealand earlier this month. While acknowledging the challenges in Australian conditions, he remained optimistic about India's prospects.

"I think for me, at the moment, India-Australia, India-England are two of the best series in world cricket. Obviously, Ashes is there. But I think these two series will be keenly watched and going through social media, through news and all, I can feel there is a lot of excitement in Australia. Rightfully so for five test matches, Kohli and Rohit may not be going back to the country again after this, there is enough in this series. It is going to be a fascinating series and I am looking forward to it," said Ganguly, while speaking to Revsportz.

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