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Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane played a big role in India’s last two Test series wins in Australia, and fans want them back in the team for the upcoming five-match series.
Fans want Chesteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in Indian team for BGT. (Picture Credit: AP)
After Indian batters failed to chase down the target of 147 runs in the fourth innings to lose the third Test against New Zealand by 26 runs in Mumbai on Sunday (November 3), fans took to social media platforms to criticise Indian players. Senior players like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were brutally roasted by fans, along with Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, and Shubman Gill.
Fans were stunned by the Indian batter’s poor show throughout the series and have now called for the selection of Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in the Test team for the upcoming series against Australia.
#BringBackPujara and #BringBackRahane were trending in India on Sunday. Fans believe that in the absence of Pujara and Rahane, India stands no chance of winning Test series in Australia.
Few of the smartest decisions contributing to this whitewash-1. A white ball batter is Test captain.2. An IPL mentor is the coach.3. A clueless rich son is the BCCI chief.4. Batters like Pujara, Rahane are left out.#INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/m9qaguNsjB
— Asur (@IdleSid) November 3, 2024
Imagine dropping specialists like Rahane, Hanuma Vihari and Pujara in the Test team to include players like Sarfaraz,Rohit and Virat…BCCI is more rotten and corrupt than you can imagine.
— UmdarTamker (@UmdarTamker) November 4, 2024
Pujara last 20 Innings before getting dropped :602 RunsAverage 33.44 Fifties1 Hundred
Rohit Sharma Last 20 Innings :
550 RunsAverage 28.92 Fifty2 hundred
Rahane last 20 innings :
808 RunsAverage 42.59 Fifties1 hundred
Virat Kohli last 20 Innings
823 Runs…
— Rohit (@Iam_Rohit_G) November 3, 2024
India will face Australia in a five-match Test series that starts on November 22 in Perth. India won the last two editions of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, and Pujara and Rahane played a big role in that.
In the absence of Virat Kohli, Rahane led India to a 2-1 triumph during the 2020-21 series, whereas Pujara finished as the top scorer in the 2018-19 series. The 36-year-old right-handed batter also played in all four matches of the 2020-21 series and scored a magnificent fifty in the fourth Test played at the Gabba.
The duo was dropped from the Indian Test team last year after a string of poor performances, and in their place, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul/Sarfaraz Khan were given a chance to bat at No. 3 and 5, respectively.
While Gill, Rahul, and Sarfaraz have managed to play some big knocks in the five-day format of the game in recent past, all three of them are not consistent with their performances.
Sarfaraz scored 150 runs in the first Test against New Zealand but failed to make any significant contribution in the remaining five innings of the series. Gill too had a similar fate. The 25-year-old right-handed batter has scored three centuries in 10 Tests played so far in 2024, but he has been dismissed for a duck on three occasions as well.
