Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara were the backbone of India’s Test series for the majority of the last decade, and played a big role in India’s memorable wins in countries like Australia and England. However, things have changed in the last couple of years, and both of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have now been replaced by younger players putting doubts over their India future.
Now, with Men in Blue getting ready for the massive Test season which will see them playing 10 Test matches, the questions over Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara’s future have once again popped up with selectors not likely to include them in the Duleep Trophy squads according to the report from Indian Express. Duleep Trophy is set to start on September 5, and if the reports are to be believed, almost all star players including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are likely to feature in the tournament.
Selectors Looking At Younger Players ignoring the experience of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane
It is a clear sign of selectors and BCCI wanting their Test contenders to get much-needed practice ahead of Bangladesh Series and if Rahane and Pujara do not find their place in any of the four squads of the tournament, it is a clear sign that selectors have decided to move on from the experienced duo.
The careers of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane seemed to be going downhill and them making an Indian comeback looks very bleak. As per the reports in Indian Express, it is learned that the stalwarts of Indian cricket will not be selected for the Duleep Trophy 2024. Ajinkya Rahane last played for India in the two-match Test series against West Indies while Cheteshwar Pujara was last seen in Indian colors during WTC final against Australia in June 2023.
Former Pakistani player Basit Ali has raised questions upon the exclusion of experienced players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane and others from Duleep Trophy 2024.
Basit Ali questions senior Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara and other Indian batter’s absence from Duleep Trophy 2024
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has expressed surprise over veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara not being picked in any of the squads for the Duleep Trophy 2024. Basit opined that Pujara would have been a handy batter for the 2024-25 Australia tour had he been kept in contention for a place in the Test team.
The BCCI, on Wednesday, August 14, named the four squads for the first round of the Duleep Trophy 2024, which will be played from September 5 to September 8. Apart from Pujara, there was no place for the likes of Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson and Rinku Singh as well.
Sharing his thoughts on the squads named for the first round of Duleep Trophy 2024, Basit said that he was perplexed over a few prominent names being left out. On his YouTube channel, the former Pakistan batter said:
“I saw the teams and I am surprised that 3-4 names are not there. Ajinkya Rahane is not there. Cheteshwar Pujara is not there. Sanju Samson is not there. Rinku Singh is not there. Shivam Dube has been picked. I think he is being readied as an all-rounder. Let’s see who performs in the Duleep Trophy.
“Pujara could have been of good use in Australia. I am surprised that he is not there despite Gautam Gambhir being there [as India coach]. Even Rinku Singh in not there. Again, considering the Gambhir factor, this is rather surprising,” the 53-year-old added.
Among the players selected for the first round of Duleep Trophy 2024, Shubman Gill will lead Team A, and Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named captain of Team B, Team C will be led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, while Shreyas Iyer has been given charge of Team D. KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are some of the prominent names selected for the first round of Duleep Trophy 2024.
Cheteshwar Pujara’s Duleep Trophy exclusion is not surprising
While Cheteshwar Pujara was the mainstay of the Indian Test batting line-up at one point of time, it seems highly unlikely that he would make a return to the national side. The 36-year-old last represented India in the World Test Championship final against Australia at The Oval in June 2023. He registered scores of 14 and 27 as India lost by 209 runs.
In his overall Test career, Cheteshwar Pujara has featured in 103 matches, scoring 7195 runs at an average of 43.60, with 19 hundreds and 35 fifties. However, since the start of 2020, he has averaged only 29.69 in 28 Tests, with just one hundred.
Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been great servants for the Indian team in the Tests. They were the backbone of the team in the format and guided team to the many famous wins. The duo along with Virat Kohli were the main reason behind the dominance of the team from 2012 to 2022.
When both Ajinkya Rahane and Pujara were in the team, it’s fair to say that the Indian team had a dominating middle-order. It potentially was the strongest batting lineup as the team also won games overseas as well, winning in England, Australia, and South Africa. Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel on the other hand have performed well for India in the limited opportunities that they have were part of the Test series against England. They did a great job for the team under pressure situations and helped team win the series.