Veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped from the Indian Test squad for the upcoming tour of the West Indies. The 35-year-old, who has been a rock in the Indian middle order for over a decade, has struggled for form over the last few seasons. Following a prolonged lean spell, he was dropped from the team for the home series against Sri Lanka last year. However, the defiant batter earned a recall for the rescheduled Test against England in Birmingham based on a stupendous show in county cricket. However, he has been axed again for the tour of the West Indies following another sequence of low scores, including in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at The Oval. Having crossed 35, one wonders whether it is the end of the road for Pujara in Test cricket.
While the right-handed batter has been a great servant of Indian cricket for many years, one has to believe that the axe was waiting to fall on the Saurashtra batter. Since the conclusion of the 2018-2019 triumph in Australia, his fortunes have been on the downswing. In his last 35 Test matches, he has managed a solitary hundred, scoring 1760 runs at an average of 29.98. Even the ton he scored came against a relatively weak side like Bangladesh. Even after averaging 66.20 in four Tests against Bangladesh during the said period, Pujara’s overall average is still under 30, indicating his poor performance.
If we do an in-depth analysis, he averages 30.13 from nine Tests against Australia, 29.26 from nine Tests against England, a paltry 21.80 from five Tests against New Zealand, under 30 from six Tests against South Africa and only 15 from two Tests versus West Indies, who are hardly a force to reckon with in any format these days. If you look at Pujara’s overseas record during the last 35 Test matches, barring Bangladesh (74), he has poor records in all other countries. In fact, apart from Australia (33.87), his average does not even touch the 30-mark in any of the other nations. It is one thing having a poor run of form, but Pujara’s record over the past few seasons suggests that his batting skills might permanently decline.
Point of no return for Pujara?
The 35-year-old batter’s struggles in the WTC final against Australia at The Oval were a grim reminder of Pujara not being the dependable batter of old. Unlike the other batters coming in from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 T20 tournament in India, Pujara was expected to be best prepared to take on the Aussie challenge. He had been in England playing county cricket and had a great time for Sussex, scoring 545 runs in six matches at an average of 68.12, with three hundreds and one fifty.
It all came to nought in the WTC final against Australia, though, as Pujara struggled against a high-quality attack. He did not know where the off stump was and was bowled by Cameron Green for 14 in the first innings, leaving a delivery outside off stump. This was not the kind of dismissal expected from Pujara. Rather bizarrely, even Shubman Gill, the top run-getter in IPL 2023, was dismissed similarly. So despite having different preparations, Pujara and Gill were dismissed almost identically, throwing the debate regarding getting accustomed to English conditions out of the window.
In the second innings, Pujara also fell in ungainly fashion for 27, trying to play a ramp off Pat Cummins. All he managed was an edge to the keeper. He will be two years older when the next WTC final comes around. And even if India make the cut, it is unlikely that the batter will be around the scene. Hence, analyzing all the factors, in all probability, it looks like Pujara might have played his last Test for India.
Who after Pujara at No. 3?
Even if we conclude that Pujara’s Test days might be over, it only begs a bigger and even more pertinent question. Who after Pujara at No. 3 for India? If we look at the squad picked for the West Indies Test series, there is no proper No. 3 batter. While Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will open the innings, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane will occupy Nos. 4 and 5, respectively. That leaves two more openers, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who could be asked to occupy the pivotal one-down position. It is not an ideal situation, though, considering how crucial the batting position is.
If not Pujara, India could have picked someone like Suryakumar Yadav or Sarfaraz Khan because at least they are middle-order batters. When they come back from injury, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul will definitely stake their claim for a place at No. 3. However, while Shreyas’ performance against the short ball remains a big question mark, Rahul’s form before he got injured too was rather pedestrian. India have failed to groom a number three instead of Pujara, which was not the case 10 years back. When Rahul Dravid was set to retire from international cricket, Pujara was ready and experienced enough to take over his position. Thus, The question arises: why did India not groom a replacement for Pujara, knowing his career was ending?
According to media reports, it might not be the end of the road for Pujara yet. A source told the Times of India, “The selectors and the coach (Rahul Dravid) wanted to try out youngsters like Jaiswal and Gaikwad, so Pujara has not been picked for this tour. If he scores runs in domestic cricket, the doors are not closed on him, and that has been communicated to him.”
While it might seem like going back in time, a lack of options might force the selectors and management to return to Pujara. Then again, with Indian cricket, you never know.