Cheteshwar Pujara's inclusion in India's Asia cup squad - A new conundrum!

Suresh Raina’s time is up

Cheteshwar Pujara was never far off from finding his rightful place in Team India’s one-day setup. Suresh Raina was woefully out of form, and the pressure was mounting on Sandip Patil and co. to bring about a change to the Indian middle order, which for me has been the primary cause for Team India’s struggles in South Africa and New Zealand.

It is certainly not the first time that Pujara will play for India in limited overs cricket, but if and when he does get a go in the Asia cup, he’ll have a much bigger task on his hands than the one he faced in his first couple of ODIs for India against Zimbabwe. So, why do I say that Pujara’s inclusion in the Indian squad for the forthcoming Asia cup is a conundrum? Read on.

For the second time running, the Asia cup is held in Bangladesh, where the batsmen will be expected to make use of the relatively short boundaries and dewy conditions to optimal effect. Scores in excess of 325 and 330 should be par for the course; so in a scenario such as this one, will Pujara be able to rise up to the challenge of big hitting that he hasn’t quite mastered?

Cheteshwar Pujara needs to rise up to the challenge

From whatever I’ve seen, Pujara opened for the Kohli-lead Indian team against Zimbabwe, and during the last IPL season, he partnered the big-hitting Chris Gayle at the top of the order for the Royal Challengers Bangalore on a couple of occasions. That for me is a sure-fire sign that Pujara is someone who either prefers to lay the foundation for the side, or the teams that he has been part of believe that he’s not quite the batsmen you would ideally want in your middle order.

With Team India’s one-day setup looking the way it is, will Pujara be left with no choice but to replace Suresh Raina at no.4? The other question that needs to be looked at is whether Pujara bats at no.4 if the trio of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli manage to play a good part of the initial 30 overs when India bats first?

Also, the injection of Pujara in the Indian squad for the forthcoming Asia cup could prove contentious if he doesn’t get an extended run in the side. Because, irrespective of the way he performs in the Asia cup, my concern is whether Pujara finds a place in the Indian selection committee’s scheme of things when it comes to selecting the 15-man squad for the title defence next year. If Raina, representing India, can go on for 24 ODI innings with just a single 50+ score, Pujara certainly deserves a similar or better run in the team’s one-day setup.

I shall remain patient and witness what Pujara can offer to Team India’s one-day setup, which is by far the biggest question that needs answering in another fortnight or so, when the Asia cup kicks off in Bangladesh on February 25.