In what has been the latest development as per the reports in PTI, it is learned that veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are no longer in the scheme of things for Tests. BCCI has moved on from them now and their chances to make a comeback in the Test squad are second to none.
Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara weren’t named in the Indian squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa. This raised quite a few speculations about their future, especially Rahane, who was part of the last Test series India played.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, who were the backbone of the Indian Test Team, were under the radar a lot for their poor performances. After the ICC World Test Championship Final, Pujara faced an axe but Rahane, who was recalled for that particular match kept his place after his vital contribution.
KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer To Replace Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane couldn’t make an impact in the series against West Indies and with Shreyas Iyer returning, he was dropped from the team. A source close to BCCI revealed that both the veterans won’t be picked anymore because their slots have been filled. Speaking to PTI, he explained:
“The two slots that Rahane and Pujara had now belong to KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. Also, Gill will bat in the middle order and Yashashvi will get a long rope.”
Yashasvi Jaiswal made his debut against West Indies earlier this year and made a strong statement with his performances. Shubman Gill on the other hand was given the No.3 position and now KL Rahul is expected to keep wickets and bat in the middle.
Both Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been incredible servants of the nation. While Rahane has 5077 runs at an average of 38.46, Pujara in 103 Tests has scored 7195 runs at an average of 43.60.
Here is India’s squad for 2 Tests:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohd. Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna.