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Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has targeted the selectors for dropping only Cheteshwar Pujara from India's squad for the two-match Test series in West Indies next month.
The 73-year-old pointed out that the entire Indian batting unit, barring Ajinkya Rahane, failed to deliver in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. Yet, Pujara (who scored 14 and 27 in the match) was the only one made the scapegoat, as per him.
Gavaskar was drawing attention to the fact that captain Rohit Sharma (15 and 43), Virat Kohli (14 and 49), and Shubman Gill (13 and 18) retained their spots in the Test squad.
The Indian batting legend believes that Pujara can still offer a lot to Indian cricket. He reckons that the Saurashtra batter can continue to play till 40 if he can deliver with the bat and stays fit.
Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar said:
“Yeah, he has been playing county cricket. He has played a lot of red-ball cricket, so he knows what it is about. People can play till they are 40 or 39. There is nothing wrong because they are all very fit. As long as you are scoring the runs and taking wickets, I don’t think age should be a factor.
"Clearly, only one man has been singled out while others also failed. To me, the batting failed. Apart from Ajinkya Rahane, of course, in both innings, he got 89 and 46, nobody else really got runs.”
The cricketer-turned-commentator added:
“Why is he [Cheteshwar Pujara] dropped then? Why is he being made the scapegoat for our batting failures? He has been a servant of Indian cricket, a loyal servant. Because he doesn’t have millions of followers on whatever platforms who would make a noise in case he gets dropped?
"I mean, you dropped him? That is beyond understanding. What is the criteria for dropping him and keeping the others who failed?”
It is worth remembering that Pujara also flopped with the bat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India. The right-handed batter scored only 140 runs in six innings, including a solitary half-century. The likes of Rohit, Kohli, and Gill scored a century each in the home series.
“Give them a complete break” – Sunil Gavaskar wants senior players to be rested for Test series after Cheteshwar Pujara's axe
Sunil Gavaskar also opined that senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma could have been rested for the two Tests in West Indies. He feels that extra rest could have helped players rest and recharge before four months of white-ball cricket leading up to the 2023 ODI World Cup in October-November.
“I would have personally wanted the big boys to be given a complete break from Test cricket. Only now, look at the 50-overs or the 20-overs formats. I would have wanted them to only look at the white ball and not look at the red ball at all. Give them a complete break. They will be playing non-stop for three-four months.”
Team India are scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is in West Indies from July to August.
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, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Navdeep Saini.
