Afghanistan may have lost their maiden Test to India inside just two days but Sourav Ganguly is confident that they will get better with time, only needs time to understand the longest format.

One of the greatest captains of the game –Ganguly further added that the Test debutants should not wary of their Bangalore Test result, instead, they should rewind the entire two days to realize what they need to do to get better in Test cricket, saying defeats in debut has happened with many other teams.

In his column for Times of India, Ganguly wrote, “No surprises were thrown up at the Chinnaswamy Stadium but at the same time not many expected that the India-Afghanistan Test match would get over in just two days. The Afghan boys shouldn't worry about how long the Test lasted but should rewind the entire two days to realize what they need to do to get better in the longer format of the game.”

He further added, “This has happened with many other teams. When Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe were inducted into test cricket, their initial days were also sketchy. It is with time that they got better. Afghanistan, and for that matter the other new entrant, Ireland, will have to be given more time to understand and come to terms with the demands of the longest format of the game. With time they will learn.”

Commenting on Rashid Khan’s bowling, Indian batting great added, “Rashid Khan bowled well in patches and it must have been a good learning exercise for him bowling those long spells. He needs to give the champion [Anil] Kumble a ring as he is not far away.”

Meanwhile, he believes that Afghanistan should come out from their T20 mode and work on their footwork to get success in the longest format of the game.

Ganguly signed off, “The Afghans were still in T20 mode and the lack of footwork was pretty apparent when they played pace bowling. Umesh Yadav bowled good pace and it did put doubts in the batters' minds. Test cricket is about patience and proper shot selection. As much as solid shots, judgment outside the off stump and letting deliveries go is very important to succeed and with the course of time and proper coaching they will learn.”