Ex-ENG pacer asks, In Virat’s absence, should India have opted for Pujara?
With no Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, or AjinkyaRahane in the team for the England Tests, one would have hoped that the young Indian middle-order fired all cylinders. And it did during the second and third Tests, where India won by comfortable margins.
But then, it was evident that, in the event of a collapse, there was hardly an experienced hand who could bail India out of trouble. And that is what has happened in the fourth Test in Ranchi, where from being 112/2 at one stage, India lost six quick wickets, adding close to 80 runs only.
Spinners Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley operated in tandem to get wickets with ease on a pitch that suddenly started offering assistance to the slower bowlers on day two. And that is where the team missed experience in the middle order.
Even former England pacer Stuart Broad recognized this problem with Team India and tweeted about it. He wrote, “With the experience and world-class talent of Kohli missing, would there have been temptation to bring Pujara back into this India batting line-up? Or is his international career over? It feels like he could have brought some consistency and an anchor.”
Meanwhile, Pujara has been sensational in the Ranji Trophy this season, having scored 783 runs for Saurashtra in eight games at an average of 71.18. He has scored three tons as well, and he has the highest- score of 243 in the season. With one test remaining in Dharamshala, it is only sensible to include him in the squad.