According to Indian Express reports, the head coach Gautam Gambhir has asked for returning experienced batter Cheteshwar Pujara as the batting department in India is not looking good, as he had a big role in winning India’s series against Australia during the last two tours.
He also added that Gautam Gambhir wanted Cheteshwar Pujara back in the Test side, which the selectors did not agree with. Gambhir, bless his soul, didn’t relent and even after India winning the first Test at Perth, did not add Pujara to the team.
Cheteshwar Pujara is a batsman from Rajkot and plays for Saurashtra in the domestic circuit in India in Test cricket. He last played for India against Australia at The Oval in the final of the World Test Championship 2021-23. The 36-year-old has been contributing a lot to India’s success against Australia in the last two tours as he has played an important role in both series.
Pujara was the highest run-scorer on the India tour to Australia in 2018, collecting 521 runs from seven innings. He collected 271 runs on tour in 2020/21; but the biggest memory would remain when, during the Gabba Test, he batted for 211 balls and scored 56 runs, taking India into the game.
Unlike Pujara, the Indian team doesn’t find another cricketer who chips away at the bowling of the enemy gradually with a form of tough defensive game. In the absence of Pujara during the first test, the team added the player who was listed, for the time being, in the batting lineup at number three player list after Shubman Gill and now KL Rahul has been joined too.
Next, he has been consistently involved in the team’s attempts to find another cricketer like him, except for Pujara, who scampered off by knocking down to the respective bowling the opposing teams gradually with his rugged defensive game. The Indian team without Pujara in the very first test had put in a player who was previously held number three in the order list for this same reason, but that’s Shubman Gill, now KL Rahul too.
KL Rahul came closest to Pujara, and he had a fairly successful tour to be third-most run-scorer for India in the series. But Pujara’s presence would have made India’s batting a lot more stable against the Australian bowling line-up.
As of now, Australia sits at the vantage position of leading the five-match Test series 2-1 and starts this Test as the clear favorite to win it and qualify for the World Test Championship final for the second time in succession. India will have to level the series for retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy the second time in consecutive seasons, and for that, it will need the best performance.
