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Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped from the Team India squad for the two-Test series in West Indies, which starts on July 12.
The development came after the right-handed batter failed to deliver for Rohit Sharma and Co. in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final as they lost to Australia by 209 runs earlier this month. The 35-year-old returned with scores of 14 and 27 in his two innings.
It was the second failure for Pujara in the WTC final. He scored eight and 15 against New Zealand in the inaugural WTC 2021 final, where India lost by eight wickets.
Pujara’s multiple failures were a surprise as he came into the WTC final on the back of three tons for Sussex in the County Championship division two.
The Saurashtra batter had failed to deliver during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home earlier this year. He scored 140 runs in six innings, including a solitary half-century.
Fans on Twitter came up with mixed reactions to Cheteshwar Pujara’s absence from India’s squad for the West Indies tour. One tweeted:
"Pujara dropped. Generational shift is on."
Here are some of the other best Twitter reactions:
Ajinkya Rahane appointed vice-captain as Cheteshwar Pujara dropped for the WI tour
In Cheteshwar Pujara’s absence, Ajinkya Rahane has been appointed as Team India's new vice-captain for the two-Test series against West Indies. This came as Rahane scored 89 and 46 in the two innings of the WTC final. He was the standout batter for Team India in both innings.
Unlike Pujara, Rohit Sharma (15 & 43), Shubman Gill (13 & 18) and Virat Kohli (14 & 49) have retained their spots in the Test squad despite failures in the WTC 2023 final.
Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been added to India’s Test squad.
India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
India will play their first Test against West Indies at Windsor Park in Dominica, starting at 7.30 pm IST on July 12.
