Legendary Chris Gayle has backed Sarfaraz Khan to be part of India’s Test team. Khan was dropped for the England tour, which was a tad surprising for all the experts. The right-hander was part of the squad for the Australian tour but could not get a single game in five Test matches.

Khan had scored 171 runs in three Test matches against New Zealand while playing at home in 2024. Overall, the youngster has amassed 371 runs in six Test matches at an average of 37.1. Khan had broken into the Test team after performing consistently in the domestic circuit.

The Mumbai batter has scored 4685 runs in 55 first-class matches at an impressive average of 65.98, including 16 centuries

Chris Gayle said on Shubhankar Mishra YouTube Channel’s podcast, “I mean, he should be in the Test side. He should be in the Test squad at least, you know. Scored a century against England at home, not in the squad. I saw a post a couple of days ago. He lost weight. The weight wasn’t even, nothing was wrong with his weight or anything. He’s just fine. He was still scoring runs.”

“The man scored triple centuries in first-class cricket. So if they’re using that against him, that’s sad, you know. They should never use that against him. That youngster should have been a part of the squad 100%. I mean, India have so much talent, man, but give the man a run,” he added.

On the other hand, Gayle reckons MS Dhoni can play in the IPL as long as he wants to. Dhoni, 44, is reported to take part in the next season of the tournament, which could be the last of his career.

“Oh, why not? Like I said, he should play as long as he wants to. He earned that. He earned the right to play as long as he wants to, and he earned the right to walk away when he wants to as well. Yeah, absolutely.”

Dhoni has amassed 5439 runs in 278 IPL matches.