The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced the Test and ODI squads for the upcoming tour of West Indies, drawing attention to the exclusion of star batsman Cheteshwar Pujara from the Test format. Pujara, who has been a mainstay in the Test team for several years, was left out due to inconsistent performances in the format. Youngsters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad were given opportunities in the main squad, highlighting the team’s focus on nurturing new talent.
Pujara’s omission did not come as a surprise to many, considering his average of 32 in the previous World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, spanning 17 Tests. The 35-year-old batter was previously dropped from the team before the home series against Sri Lanka in February last year but made a successful comeback in July following an impressive stint with Sussex in the County Championships.
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Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, however, staunchly defended Pujara and expressed his hope that the batter is “rested” rather than dropped from the squad.
Harbhajan argued that other batsmen in the Indian XI have delivered similar performances to Pujara during the previous WTC cycle, and it would be unfair to single out the experienced player.
“Cheteshwar Pujara isn’t there, which makes me worried. He has been a big player for India. Hopefully, he’s also given a break and not dropped. Pujara is the backbone of this team. If you’re dropping him, then the averages of other batters haven’t been good either. The benchmarks should be the same for all players, no matter how big a player you are. If you don’t consider Pujara a key player… by that logic, others aren’t key players either,” expressed Harbhajan Singh on his official YouTube channel.
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“There shouldn’t be question marks about his career. India won series in Australia and led in England, and wherever India played well, he has contributed efficiently. He hasn’t performed consistently in the past 1-1.5 years… but then have a look at other batsmen as well. Their figures are almost similar. So, singling him out isn’t right. He has played 100 Tests; he deserves respect. I hope there was communication between selectors and Pujara before this decision. He still has it in him to perform in Test cricket,” added Harbhajan Singh .
India is scheduled to play two Tests and three ODIs in West Indies. The squads for the five T20Is against the Caribbean side will be announced at a later date. The absence of Cheteshwar Pujara from the Test squad has sparked discussions and raised questions about the team’s selection process and the treatment of experienced players.
