Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are once again in hot water after a flop against South Africa in the second Test at Wanderers. Despite a steady start, the visitors could not survive the team’s downfall and were dismissed for 202 in the first innings. The middle order looked weak as none of the batsmen except KL Rahul and Ashwin could face the Proteas attack.
The focus was on Pujara and Rahane, who are dealing with a lean patch in their respective careers. Unfortunately, there were no signs of improvement. The former faced 33 balls and scored only 3 runs. Rahane on the other hand got the golden duck; First time in test cricket.
While both received heavy criticism from fans on social media, veteran India wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik feels that one of the batsmen will have to make way for Virat Kohli if the captain returns for the final Test in Cape Town. .
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Talking to Cricbuzz, Karthik said that the ‘long rope’ given to the two senior middle-order batsmen of India is slowly burning and is nearing its end.
3 on the best cricket team in the world, to find a spot there for three years and not score a century – he (Pujara) will know he has a long, long rope. To a large extent they play because they have the potential, and the performance they have shown, and of course, they are senior politicians [in the team] as well. But the long rope that has been given to them is slowly burning and you are coming to the end of it. I’m pretty sure they both know about it. Also, we have got to see the potential of the players behind, they have done that too. Now if Virat Kohli returns, you would think one of the two has to give way,” Kartik told Cricbuzz.
The India wicketkeeper-batsman further said that head coach Rahul Dravid will not hesitate to take a tough decision on the Rahane-Pujara duo if they fail to score.
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“When Rahul Dravid was on the cusp of his career, it was really Pujara who came and did well at that No. 3 spot, pressuring him to eventually take his spot… Obviously, that circle comes around . I think Rahul Dravid will have to make some tough decisions and if it means giving up on one or both of them, he will be up for it because he knows he has been given a long rope before… you Doesn’t want to set the ground on fire by making big decisions early on, so I guess he’s waiting and trying to assess what contribution he can make to his career and if it doesn’t make sense. , so it does not mean that,” concluded Karthik.
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