‘Retirement le lena chaahiye’ – Fans react as Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane get excluded from Indian Test squad against South Africa
The two last played a Test together in the WTC final 2023.
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Dec 1, 2023 11:36 am
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been excluded from the Indian Test squad against South Africa, which is set to happen in December 2023 and January 2024. The two players last played a Test together during the final of the World Test Championship 2023 earlier this year against Australia at the Oval. They will now be not featuring in the Indian Test squad for the series against South Africa.
Rahane was a part of the Indian team in the last Test series against West Indies. Pujara was dropped from the Indian squad following the bad performance against Australia in the WTC final. It points to one thing. India might be looking forward to moving away from the two senior batters from the longest format of the game. If India has decided so, it might be a big decision without a doubt.
The issue with Rahane and Pujara is that in the last few years, they have been terribly out of form. Whenever they get dropped, they go back to first-class cricket or county division 2, score runs there to make a comeback. But even after returning, they do not show any promise and show the same inconsistency in making runs. It has left the Indian management perplexed.
Cheteshwar Pujara Ajinkya and Rahane (Source: Twitter)
End of roads for the two senior batters?
The lack of runs scored by them has forced the Indian management to look for alternatives. India is likely to play Shubman Gill and KL Rahul at 3 and 5 respectively, in the absence of the senior cricketers. With the age not being on their side, the situation for the two only gets difficult. They are well over 35 and the youngsters have shown better potential in themselves.
India will be playing a 5-match Test series against England next year. If the two do not get selected even for that series, then it might well be an indication of their future in the Indian Test side. In the last 5 years, the two have averaged less than 35 each and struck at low rates. Going for youngsters seems to be the best option at the moment.
