Cheteshwar Pujara has been going through a rough phase in his career. The Indian Test specialist has not scored a ton in the format since 2019 and his last few scores have been low. He was out for nine runs in the first innings of the second Test at Lord’s after scoring 4 and 12* in the first Test. Team India will bat on day 4 and Pujara will be key for India to score a good second innings lead.
Former Pakistan skipper Samlan Butt opened up on Cheteshwar Pujara’s struggles so far in the series. Since 2018, his average is 31, which is considerably lower than his career average of 45. His bigger issue has been in the way he has been getting out in recent times. Butt has opined on the player who can replace him in the XI for the third Test.
“Pujara is struggling. The conditions are also tough. If India want, they can give Suryakumar Yadav a chance. It all depends on what Virat Kohli thinks, what the coach thinks,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.
Too Early To Drop Cheteshwar Pujara: Salman Butt
Butt further said that despite his poor form it is too early to count out Pujara given his experience of playing in English conditions.
“As of now, three innings have been played. I feel it is too early to bring in a youngster in such testing conditions. It will be a really tough task for him. Pujara, on the other hand, is dependable and he has performed before in these conditions. He has failed so far but let’s give him one more Test,” he said.
Team India had called up Suryakumar Yadav and Prithvi Shaw as covers for the injured Washington Sundar and Shubman Gill. Shardul Thakur also was ruled out of the second Test with a hamstring injury.
England batted throughout the day on day 3 scoring 391 runs with skipper Joe Root scoring his second century of this Test series. The hosts have taken a significant 27-run lead. Team India will bat on day four and would look to set up a good score to defend it on the final day for a win.
Also Read: IND vs ENG 2021, 2nd Test Day 3 Report: Joe Root Scores 180* As England Get 27-Run Lead
