Sunil Gavaskar opined on the prolonged struggles of India’s Test match No.3 & No.5 Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, finding them near the axe if they don’t pull up their socks and perform in the second innings of the New Year’s Test in Johannesburg against South Africa.
Gavaskar’s remarks came from the commentary box as he is doing broadcasting duties on tour for SuperSport in South Africa. The batting maestro saw Pujara (3) and Rahane (0) fall on successive balls on Day 1 of the second Test and said the two players probably have only an innings left in their respective dwindling careers at the Test level.
In the previous Test as well, which India won in Centurion, while Pujara made contributions of only 0 & 16, Rahane failed to make his encouraging starts of 48 & 20 count for something big.
Since the start of 2020, Pujara is averaging 25.52 with 868 runs from 35 innings, while Rahane is averaging 24.22 with 751 runs from 32 innings.
At a time when India’s contemporary great Virat Kohli is also enduring a slump in form, the team need senior men Pujara and Rahane to stand up to the task. But, as seen in the first two Tests in South Africa and over a sustained period in the last two years, they haven’t quite lived up to their roles and undoubted ability.
With strong domestic performers waiting in the wings, Gavaskar reckons, the two pros could well be dropped for good if they don’t contribute significantly in the second half of what is shaping up to be another close Test match in Johannesburg.
“After those two dismissals one can say that they probably have just the next innings, both Pujara and Rahane, to save their Test careers,”
Gavaskar was quoted as saying from the commentary box.
“There have been questions asked about their place in the team and now with these two dismissals, they have just one innings left.
If there is another innings and the way India is going, it looks like there will be another for them to score something and maybe keep their place in the team,”
he added.
If India do drop Pujara and Rahane in the middle of the Test series in South Africa, it would go down as one of their bravest steps in terms of selection in recent times. Historically, the Indian selectors and the management have waited for the end of a series before making a futuristic call.
But there is certainly a line of thought that says if there is a time to throw back-up options at the deep end of the waters, it is now, especially if the series in South Africa stays alive till the third Test in Cape Town.
In throwing players like Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer into the mix, the think-tank will have a chance to truly assess where they stand with their games and go about ensuring they can maximise their potential.
Either way, it is undeniable that India are nearing the next transition phase in their Test match batting. It remains to be seen, however, if India show more leniency to Pujara’s struggles than Rahane, for he is a No.3 who faces the brunt of the fresh pacers with the new ball and when the surfaces usually tend to be at their most challenging.
Pujara also made healthy contributions to India’s run during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the Pataudi Trophy in England. He has had seven scores of fifty or more since the start of 2020, while Rahane only three.
Pujara’s presence allows India to play out the tough periods and ease things up for their stroke makers in the middle-order, where the team would expect people like Rahane to make their chances count a lot more.
