Former Indian Opener Aakash Chopra has raised doubts about whether Rinku Singh could step into Virat Kohli‘s shoes in India’s squad for the initial two Tests against England. Kohli, who opted out for personal reasons, will miss the first two matches of the five-Test series, scheduled to begin in Hyderabad on January 25. The selectors are anticipated to announce a replacement for him shortly.
Rinku Singh is not just a T20 player- Aakash Chopra
In a video posted on his YouTube channel, Chopra identified Rajat Patidar and Devdutt Padikkal as potential replacements for Kohli. He also raised the question of whether Rinku Singh could be considered as an alternative, Chopra explained,
“What about Rinku Singh? He was kept with the team in South Africa. He is not a one-trick pony. It’s not that he is just a white-ball player. It’s not that he is just a T20 player. Check his first-class numbers and he is going back and playing first-class cricket whenever he gets a chance,”
Chopra highlighted that Rinku Singh has consistently participated in first-class cricket and boasts an impressive track record in the format. He backed his statements further saying,
“It’s not that he is cutting corners. He doesn’t make himself unavailable because he is in the T20 team and who is going to play him Test matches. He has an average of over 50 and has been playing for many years. So why not Rinku Singh? Very tempting option,”
Rinku Singh has accumulated 3,109 runs in 44 first-class games at an impressive average of 57.57. Additionally, he has showcased his batting prowess in 13 white-ball international innings, demonstrating comfort against both pace and spin.
Form is with him and he has a proven Test record- Aakash Chopra on Cheteshwar Pujara
In his analysis, Aakash Chopra mentioned Cheteshwar Pujara as a potential replacement for Virat Kohli, highlighting the experienced Test batter as a suitable option. The cricketer-turned-commentator elaborated,
“Cheteshwar Pujara – only four Indians have scored more than 20000 first-class runs. He scored a double century recently. Form is with him and he has a proven Test record. He works hard by playing county cricket as well. He is your sincere cricketer. In fact, I say he is Indian cricket’s monk,”
Despite that, Aakash Chopra suggested that the Indian selectors might not be going in that way and would be looking to explore alternatives beyond Cheteshwar Pujara for the upcoming Test series against England.
“So you can pick him. However, I feel India are not looking in that direction. They have already started looking in a different direction. Cheteshwar Pujara is a legit option but are the Indian selectors looking at him as an option at all? That’s the question we need to ask and wonder,” he added.
Cheteshwar Pujara has scored 7195 runs in 103 Tests at an average of 43.60. The Saurashtra batter has an impressive first-class record, amassing 20,013 runs at an average of 51.98 in 260 games. Pujara has impressed so far in the ongoing Ranji Trophy scoring 444 runs across 5 innings which includes a marathon knock of 243 in the opening fixture.