Sarfaraz Khan is back in the discussion again, following Sai Sudharsan failed to regain fitness in time and he received a call-up for the two-match away Test series against Sri Lanka as well. However, Sarfaraz last played for India against New Zealand in November 2024, where India lost their first home series loss in 12 years as well.

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

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“So that way, even Sarfaraz won’t waste his time on the rest of the things. He can focus on playing good spin, and he can become the king of the sub-continental conditions. He can build his career. If you feel he cannot work in certain conditions, then communicate that to him,” he again shared.

Meanwhile, former India batter WV Raman also said that he would prefer Sarfaraz Khan over Dhruv Jurel in the team’s playing XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka as well.

“I would tend to think that in a Test match, you will have to go for the specialist. Dhruv Jurel has done well as a wicketkeeper-batter. He gets some runs. But this man has also done well, the young boy Sarfaraz Khan. So, I think if you have picked him in the side as a specialist batter for Test cricket, I would rather go with him. But he is also a very good player of spin. He can be an attacking option. The other thing that he will bring to the table is that he is also a good close-in catcher, and that is perhaps something that you would need, especially if Sri Lanka dishes out a turning track,” WV Raman told IANS in an exclusive conversation facilitated by Sony Sports Network on Thursday.