The veteran Indian batter, Cheteshwar Pujara has been recalled in the Test squad for India’s squad for the postponed fifth Test against England at Edgbaston from July 1-5. The Test will also determine the result of the five-match series, with India currently leading 2-1, following its victories at Lord’s and The Kia Oval. On the back of an impressive ODI series against West Indies earlier this year, where he had scalped nine wickets in three matches, Prasidh Krishna was drafted into the squad.

Pujara’s Test recall comes close because of his consistent performances in the ongoing County season with Sussex, where he averaged 120 with four centuries in eight innings. This was Pujara’s fourth county stint, following spells at Derbyshire (2014), Yorkshire (2015 and 2018), and Nottinghamshire (2017). 

Earlier, playing the Ranji Trophy after a couple of years, Cheteshwar Pujara had amassed 191 runs in five innings with the help of a couple of fifties, for Saurashtra.

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However, Cheteshwar Pujara was suffering a lean patch of late. While his last international hundred came against Australia in January 2019 in Sydney, he managed just 124 runs in six innings in his most recent Test series against South Africa with an average of 20.66. His poor form led to him receiving a snub from India’s Test squad for the Sri Lanka series. He has been averaging 26.29 since the beginning of 2020 in the longest format.

The veteran Indian cricketer, Ajinkya Rahane will be missing competitive cricket for at least a couple of months after hurting his hamstring in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 last week. Because of the injury, Rahane will now be expected to miss India’s lone Test in England in July and the Ranji Trophy knockouts in June.

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KS Bharat will be the reserve wicketkeeper in the squad as Rishabh Pant will continue being the wicket-keeper in the Test team. Prasidh Krishna also continued his rich vein of form in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 for Rajasthan Royals, picking 15 wickets in 14 matches.

Indian Test Squad:

Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.

TEST Squad – Rohit Sharma (Capt), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna #ENGvIND

— BCCI (@BCCI) May 22, 2022