Cheteshwar Pujara returned to the nets less than 24 hours after being left out of India’s team to tour the West Indies next month. He even uploaded a video of the same to show the selectors that he wasn’t finished yet.
In order to get back into the domestic grind, Pujara will compete for the West Zone team in the Duleep Trophy.
Pujara, a 103-test veteran, managed scores of 14 and 27 in the WTC Final 2023 against Australia, which was the last straw for the selectors to decide to drop him and replace him with uncapped Jaiswal and Gaikwad for the 2-Test series in the West Indies.
When it came to his son’s selection or lack thereof, Arvind Pujara, who represented Saurashtra in first-class cricket from 1976 to 1980 while also serving as his son’s coach, remained silent.
However, he did express confidence in Cheteshwar’s ability to put in a lot of effort in County and domestic cricket and make a comeback.
The Indian Express quoted Arvind as saying,”He is mentally very strong. Regarding selection, I can’t comment. However, based on what I have observed, he is batting at his peak. After the WI team announcement, he was actually hard at work in the nets that day. He has begun preparing for the Duleep Trophy and will keep competing on the county circuit. I see no reason why he can’t recover as a father and coach. ”
While Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane haven’t exactly moved the mountains with their bats, Cheteshwar hasn’t been as consistent as he was in his prime.
Sunil Gavaskar, a former captain of India, claimed that Pujara has been made the fall guy and the scapegoat for the WTC Final loss, which he blamed on all the batters, after the selectors decided to keep Kohli and Rahane while dropping Pujara (who was India’s best batsman in the WTC Final but had been dropped for the previous 14 months).
“He has been a devoted employee of Indian cricket, a quiet and capable achiever. Why has he been made the scapegoat for our batting failures? Gavaskar said on Sports Today, “That is something beyond understanding. You drop him because he doesn’t have millions of followers on whatever platforms who would make a noise in case he gets dropped. “
The underwhelming performances of other batters were cited by former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who echoed Gavaskar’s remarks.
“I’m concerned because Cheteshwar Pujara isn’t present. He has played a significant role for India. He may also receive a break and avoid being dropped, hopefully. The foundation of this group is Pujara. If you’re dropping him, other batters’ averages haven’t been great either. No matter how prominent a player you are, the benchmarks should be the same for everyone, according to Harbhajan.
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