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Graham Gooch today warned Ravi Bopara he has a huge task to win back his England place after the Essex batsman was left out of the Test and one-day squads for the tour of South Africa.
Bopara — one of Gooch's proteges at Essex – has been punished for a dire summer against Australia, during which he failed to pass fifty in any of the three forms of the game.
Gooch believes Bopara could benefit from following Monty Panesar's lead and playing first-class cricket abroad during the winter but he knows it won't be easy for the 24-year-old to win back the favour of the selectors.
Gooch said: “I am convinced he will be back in the future, because he is too talented not to be, but he has got some ground to make up.
“Ravi has to work at it. He has great ability and he might look at going to play some first-class cricket somewhere. He has to consider his options.
“He needs to look for ways to improve himself and realise the talent he has. It's a blip in his career but we have to hope that he will be back soon.”
