Chris Gayle hits out at Indian selectors and team management in congratulatory wishes for Sarfaraz Khan

Legendary West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle has sent a message to young Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan. Sarfaraz Khan earned his maiden Test call-up in the ongoing five-match Test series between India and England on Monday, January 29. The 26-year-old Mumbai batter was included in the 17-member squad for the second Test against England after KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja got ruled out of the second Test.

Sarfaraz Khan scored 161 off 160 deliveries while playing for the India A team in the second unofficial Test against the England Lions last week. He also won the Player of the Match for his wonderful innings against the England Lions. The 26-year-old batter now faces competition from Rajat Patidar to find a place in India’s playing XI as a replacement for KL Rahul.

KL Rahul was ruled out of the second Test after he complained of pain in his right quadriceps. He was the second Indian, after Ravindra Jadeja, to get ruled out of the Vizag Test. The No.1 Test all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the second Test after he suffered a hamstring injury during the fourth day’s play in the first Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad.

Sarfaraz Khan had been waiting for a call-up to the Indian Test team for quite some time now, and finally, on Monday, he was rewarded for his stellar performances in domestic cricket. After the news of his selection was confirmed, he started receiving congratulations from a lot of fans. Chris Gayle took note of it, and he took to Instagram to share a picture of him with Sarfaraz from his playing days in the IPL to wish him the best.

Sarfaraz Khan And Chris Gayle Played In The IPL Together For RCB And PBKS

He wrote a three-word message for Sarfaraz, which read, “Go get em.” Sarfaraz shared Gayle’s post for him on his Instagram stories, and within no time it went viral on the internet. Sarfaraz wrote ‘Boss’ on his Instagram story where he shared Chris Gayle’s story. Sarfaraz Khan was the top scorer of the 2021/22 Ranji season where he scored 982 runs in nine innings scoring four centuries at an average of more than 122.

Chris Gayle and Sarfaraz shared the dressing room first during their stint in the IPL with RCB and then as Punjab Kings players. While Gayle is one of the greatest IPL players of all time, Sarfaraz Khan has so far failed to deliver in the cash-rich league and went unsold in the IPL 2024 auction, which took place at Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on December 19, 2023.

The second Test of the five-match Test series between India and England will be played at the Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Stadium in Vishakhapatnam commencing on February 2, Friday.

India lost the first Test in Hyderabad by 28 runs and now will look forward to winning the second Test to level the series and aim for the win. India has never lost a home Test series in the last 12 years. The last defeat at home came against England in 2012 when the Alastair Cook-led England side defeated India 2-1 in a four-match Test series.