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Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dropped from the Indian Test team last year due to poor form.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane were dropped from Indian Test team last year. (Picture Credit: PTI)
After Indian batters failed to produce a good show in the three-match Test series against New Zealand, which India lost by a 0-3 margin on Sunday (November 3), several fans on social media have started demanding that Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane be included in the side for the upcoming 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
India are set to travel to Australia later this week to take part in a five-match Test series that starts on November 22 in Perth. Stunned by the Indian batter’s poor show, prediction of India lose 0-5 against Australia are flowing thick and fast on social sphere.
Fans feel that the only way to avoid the embarrassment is to summon Pujara and Rahane for the tour.
With the squad already announced and the fact that neither has featured in international cricket for more than a year now, it’s unlikely that they will be called up. However, if for a moment one considers the possibility, then who do they replace in the Test squad?
Including Pujara and Rahane may appear tempting given the team’s recent batting failures since the duo packs years of experience, and could potentially add solidity to India’s brittle middle order.
Pujara and Rahane were dropped from the Indian team last year due to poor form, and to bring them back because the current lot is not living up to the expectations will be a knee-jerk reaction given they are in the final phase of their playing career and hence, not a long-term solution.
Pujara and Rahane are each 36 years old, and they can, at best, be a stopgap solution. Even if they end up helping India win in Australia, how long can the team persist with the duo?
India’s next World Test Championship cycle gets underway with the tour of England next year in June.
Instead of bringing back Pujara and Rahane, India need Test batters in their mould capable of spending long hours at the crease while absorbing pressure and tiring out the bowlers.
The batters in the current Indian Test set-up seem to be married to the idea of attacking bowlers to assert domination. The approach worked well for India in the five-match series against England and two Tests against Bangladesh but the Kiwis came well prepared, and as a result, they managed to win three matches in a row.
Failure in one series doesn’t make Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan, or KL Rahul bad players. They are the future and during the home series against England earlier this year, it was evident they are capable of holding their own against top teams.
They will only improve with experience, and it’s fair to back them.
