England vs India 2018: 3 reasons why Cheteshwar Pujara should be picked in the 2nd Test

The first Test between India and England at Edgbaston was an enthralling encounter which kept the fans on the edge of their seats. India, needing 194 runs to win on a difficult pitch, lost the match by 31 runs.

Despite the Indian bowlers performing exceedingly well and picking up all 20 English wickets, they were let down by the Indian batsman who couldn't negotiate the swing of Anderson, Curran, and Broad and hence collapsed. The only exception was Virat Kohli who scored his first Test hundred on English soil and kept India in the hunt by scoring a brilliant 50 in the second innings.

The most surprising decision taken by Virat Kohli before the start of the match was to drop the ever-dependable Pujara. Having scored 4531 runs in 97 innings at an average of 50.34 and having played County cricket in the summer, Pujara was an automatic choice in the starting XI. Having played in English condition, Pujara's inclusion in the first test match might have averted India's batting collapse.

Let us look at the 3 reasons as to why Pujara should play the second test match.

#3 Has the temperament to play in tough conditions

Pujara's 50 off 179 balls at Wanderers was a very gutsy knock

Pujara is a technically skilled and solid batsman. He has the rare ability to be extremely patient, play as per the situation and conditions and doesn't have the temptation to throw his bat at every ball outside the off-stump. With his style, he has the ability to frustrate even the best bowlers in the business.

He showed his class with the bat against South Africa in the 3rd Test at the Wanderers, when he scored a steady and crucial knock of 50 runs in 179 balls. These runs were scored in a low scoring Test match on an extremely difficult pitch which even left the South African batsmen baffled.

Hence, the above stat and description do constitute a valid reason as to why Pujara should be picked in the second Test.

#2 Can successfully avert a batting collapse

Pujara has been compared with Dravid as the next wall of Indian cricket

Pujara, like Rahul Dravid, is a wall for India whose batting defence is almost impenetrable and has the capability to bat continuously without losing concentration for a long duration. He is that type of a player who will desperately hold the innings on one end when the other players around him are getting out in quick succession.

This type of quality was not displayed by the Indian batsmen except Virat Kohli in both the innings of the first test match at Edgbaston. They played rash shots which were not required in the circumstances. Hence, the Indian team lost a good opportunity to beat England in the first test.

Therefore, the inclusion of Pujara might ensure that there may not be any batting collapse for India in the second test match.

#1 Experience on English pitches

Pujara has had county stints for Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire

Pujara has had plenty of experience of playing on tricky pitches in English conditions. Having had two county stints with Yorkshire and one each with Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, Pujara is the only Indian batsman in the current squad who has played in England for such a long duration. This has been possible due to not being picked by any IPL team in recent seasons for his slow strike rate.

In the 2018 Yorkshire county season, Pujara failed miserably as he could manage only 169 runs in 12 innings at an average of 15. Hence, based on this poor form, Pujara was not picked in the starting XI in the first test match. On the other hand, many Indian batsmen were picked on IPL and ODI form in the test match. So, not selecting Pujara on such basis proved disastrous for India as the batsmen except Kohli who scored a hundred in the first innings were incapable of playing swing.

Hence, Pujara being in England has played in tough conditions during his county stint and so has the experience to play against the world-class English bowling attack