If you have made your model number 3 batsman in Test cricket, you will start with a foundation of perseverance and hard work. You will add a technique that can withstand constant and piercing questioning. You’ll want a generous dose of patience and a willingness to stick out in the middle, even when things look ugly.
Essentially, you will be creating Cheteshwar Pujara.
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For 95 Test matches – and that’s no trivial number – in 12 years, Pujara has worked at No. It was believed that Rahul Dravid was irreplaceable. With the advent and impact of Twenty20 cricket, his kind of batting had become a thing of the past. But, Pujara has shown that there is a place in modern cricket for someone who doesn’t play the shortest format.
In his innings, which is a long essay rather than a haiku, Pujara scored 18 centuries at an average of 43.87. Those numbers, especially the average, would be significantly higher if they haven’t endured a nearly two-year decline that continues to the point where a significant groundlevel has risen against Pujara.
Take a closer look at the numbers. Pujara’s last century was his 193 against Australia in January 2019. Since then he has played without three points in 27 Test matches. He has threatened thrice with 81 against South Africa in Visakhapatnam in October 2019, 77 against Australia in Sydney in January 2021 and 91 against England at Leeds in August 2021.
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But, sadly, cricket is a game that judges quality top-order batsmen on the basis of centuries scored by them and not by those they remember closely. What has accelerated Pujara’s journey from being indispensable to occupying a niche that a youngster could better fill, is the way his defenses have fallen short.
Where earlier Pujara might not have scored big scores, he was firm at the crease and used to get the bowlers out. In recent times, he has found ways to outsmart himself. Earlier he had a wicket that had to be earned. Once he saw some nervous balls at the start, Pujara didn’t give it away. To get him off the middle would be a peach of a ball or a bad decision by the umpire.
This is no longer the case. Pujara is not so much a thorn in the opposition’s body, but a respected elder in the dressing room who does not enjoy the trust or adoration of the Indian cricket public at large.
It is clear that the end of Pujara’s career is near. Whether he will make it to Test 100 or not is hanging on a thread.
But even more curious is that of Pujara’s fellow passenger, Ajinkya Rahane. When Rahane was relieved of the Test vice-captaincy, it was a clear sign that the selectors and the team management were looking to the future.
Rahane has played 82 times for India in Tests, starting in 2013, when he already had a significant amount of work behind him in first-class cricket. He has around 5000 runs to his name at an average of 38.52, and the number is low as his career has followed a certain pattern.
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His Test century has never been normal. They came to the jam with India, in difficult conditions, against large-scale quality attacks. Wellington, Lord’s, Melbourne, Delhi, Kingston, Indore, Colombo, Ranchi and then, most recently, in Melbourne, when India were all out in Adelaide by 36 runs.
The problem for Rahane has been that each of these extraordinary hundreds has been followed by several mediocre scores. It’s not that he failed between big innings, but he never left his mark on the series.
In general, when a batsman is in good form, it counts. One century is followed by another, and in a long Test series, getting familiar with bowlers and conditions means capitalizing on what is going on. Rahane has never been able to do this at any stage of his career.
Rahane played a match between his first Test century and his second Test century. The next six Tests came later. So far, so good. But Rahane played 21 Tests without scoring a century from his 9th to 10th, and counting backwards, he now has a century in his last 21 Tests.
One day, there will be someone in the world of coaching or data analytics who can answer why. And then perhaps there will be a way to help a batsman who can withstand the peak of storms, but can’t capitalize on the silence in the middle.
For now, though, it looks like a reckoning moment for Rahane is here.
Virat Kohli has been asked time and again how India can manage the transition phase it has entered. It’s not really about the transition, but the brilliant dismissals of two batsmen who have been great servants of Indian cricket, and who have been the pillars on which India’s overseas dominance has been built.
Kohli insisted that the changes cannot be forced and that the game will decide when they will happen.
The game has spoken. When is it here? The hope is how well Pujara and Rahane come their way, one after the other or together, how well they can be managed.
They deserve this.
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