‘Agar aaj pujara hota toh itna humiliating loss nhi dekhna padta’- Fans react as Harbhajan Singh questions Indian selectors over Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane’s omission
In the world of cricket, victories and defeats are part of the game’s charm. However, when a cricket powerhouse like India faces a disappointing loss, the scrutiny intensifies. The recent Test match against South Africa is considered to be a final frontier for India as it is the only SENA country where they haven’t won a test series and the heavy loss in Centurion is a harsh reminder of the challenges that come with the final frontier.
The clash in Centurion witnessed South Africa’s dominance, sealing victory within three days. The implications of this defeat are far-reaching, raising questions about Team India’s strategies and decision-making on and off the field.
Harbhajan Singh bats for Pujara and Rahane
Amidst the post-match analysis, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh emerged as a vocal critic. On his YouTube channel, he questioned the logic behind dropping key players, particularly Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara.
The exclusion of Ajinkya Rahane, a seasoned campaigner in overseas conditions, drew significant attention. Harbhajan Singh expressed bewilderment at this decision, highlighting Rahane’s past contributions and leadership skills.
More than Rahane, the absence of Cheteshwar Pujara bothered Harbhajan Singh more. Cheteshwar Pujara is a stalwart in Test cricket and Harbhajan Singh passionately defended Pujara, citing his invaluable contributions to India’s Test wins in Australia and England. He even compared Pujara’s contribution to that of Virat Kohli.
Harbhajan Singh on his YouTube channel said, “You didn’t select Ajinkya Rahane and have left Cheteshwar Pujara out for no reason. These are the two players who have scored runs everywhere. If you look at the previous record Pujara has the same contribution as Kohli had. I absolutely clueless as to why Pujara has been left out, we still don’t have a better batter than Puajra in Test cricket. He plays slowly but he saves you, because of him India won Test in Australia and England.”
In the preceding World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, Pujara secured the second-highest run tally for India, accumulating a total of 928 runs at an average of 32.00. Notably, Kohli emerged as the sole player surpassing him, amassing 932 runs with an average of 32.13. Harbhajan Singh’s views sparked a debate on social on the inclusion of both the test legends and caused missed reactions from fans. Here are some of the tweets from some fans on X:
https://twitter.com/guj_se_hu_mc/status/1741035506711023829
Pujara and Rahane are much better than Rohit at least.
Pure batter in test.
Agree?
— Sports Chronicle (@sportschr0nicle) December 30, 2023
https://twitter.com/VK18THEGOAT/status/1741035265488294107
One bad performance from youngsters in middle order and everyone is targeting them. India batting order has never performed well in south africa that's why we never won any series. Last year both pujara and rahane are present but we not won series.
— Kirkett (@bhaskar_sanu08) December 30, 2023
Rahane and pujara played over 30 test matches since 2020 despite not even averaging 30.and people target young players for 1,2 failures
— Harsh Raj (@HarshRa81994137) December 30, 2023
If PUJARA and RAHANE were there in the South Africa match, the result would have been different. pic.twitter.com/hlb5Azum5b
— Shivaye 🔱 (@shivaye01) December 30, 2023
https://twitter.com/Babar__56_/status/1741036602661666870
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