The Men in Blue have made a massive statement in the ongoing 5 Test Match series against England that they are no longer dependent on the services of Cheteshwar Pujara & Ajinkya Rahane. Rohit Sharma’s brigade has been roaring and they have taken a lead of 3-1 in the Test series and dictated the terms on Day 1 of 5th Test match.
Skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid would be aware of the fact that the youngsters like Shubman Gill, Sarfaraz Khan & Dhruv Jurel can be exposed in the overseas conditions. Even in the absence of Virat Kohli (*took a leave from the national duty) the side has performed exceedingly well which is a huge achievement.
You got to have more aggressive players- Brad Hogg’s indirect take on Cheteshwar Pujara.
Brad Hogg was seen speaking on his You Tube channel and the chinaman pointed out that Cheteshwar Pujara’s style of game is slowly getting driven away from the game. Brad Hogg pointed out that batters need to be a bit more fearless when they are playing in Australia & South African conditions.
“You have to win matches to get to the WTC final. Having that batter who just bats for a long time might sometime take away that opportunity especially if you go away from the subcontinent and come over to wickets of Australia and South Africa. You got to have more aggressive players in that aspect. I think the Pujara role is slowly getting driven away from the game,” said Brad Hogg.
What lies ahead for Cheteshwar Pujara
We have witnessed in the past that how crucial knocks Cheteshwar Pujara has played in Tests as playing more than 100 Test matches isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Cheteshwar Pujara knows how to bat with the lower middle order & tail-enders which is priceless in the modern cricket but his low strike rate has become an issue for the team and has led to his axe from the national cricket team.
In the ever changing landscape of cricket, cricketers like Cheteshwar Pujara perhaps will have to change their approach to make an impact in the Test match. It will be interesting to see whether the chief selector Ajit Agarkar bring back the veterans Cheteshwar Pujara & Ajinkya Rahane as their experience is quite invaluable in overseas Test tours.