"You cannot be there forever" - Sourav Ganguly on Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane's exclusion from India's Test squad vs South Africa

The duo may have played their last for India in Tests

Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly backed the selectors' decision to drop veteran batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane from the Test squad for the South African tour.

Despite being in woeful form since 2020, Pujara was a regular in Tests before being dropped for the Test series against the West Indies. The 35-year-old has averaged less than 30 in 28 Tests over the last four years, with only one three-figure score.

Meanwhile, Rahane was dropped after the South African tour in early 2022 and returned only for the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June this year. Despite being India's best batter in that game with 89 and 46, the 35-year-old scored only 11 runs in two innings in the following series against the West Indies.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event, Ganguly hailed the duo for their contributions to Indian cricket. The former BCCI President feels that the time had come to move on from them.

"You cannot be there forever, it will happen to everyone. I must thank them what they have done for Indian cricket and selectors want fresh faces, so that's the way it is. At some point of time you have to play new talents. It happens, there is enormous talent in India and the team has to progress. Pujara and Rahane had enormous success for India, sport doesn't remain with you forever," said Ganguly.

While Pujara has played in 103 Tests for India, Rahane has 85 red-ball games to his name. The duo has combined to score over 12,000 runs in Test cricket with 31 centuries in their illustrious careers.

India will look to win their first-ever Test series in South Africa

Virat Kohli and co. will look to conquer their final frontier in Tests.

Team India has been the No.1 Test side for almost the past decade, winning twice in Australia and drawing their previous Test series in England.

Yet, the side has historically struggled in South Africa, having never won a Test series in eight tries at the African nation. The Virat Kohli-led side came close during their previous tour in 2021-22, leading 1-0, before losing the final two Tests.

With Rohit Sharma at the helm this time, Team India has picked a 16-member squad boasting an excellent blend of experience and youth. With the series only two Tests long, the Asian giants must get into the groove immediately to conquer their final frontier in Tests.

India will play three T20Is and as many ODIs before the Test series, which starts at Centurion on December 26.

India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), and Prasidh Krishna.