One of the biggest talking points in Indian cricket revolves around the future of Test legends Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. The pair have been a regular feature in India’s Test XI, but they have been plagued by inconsistent performances, especially as a result of Rahane asking the selectors to go ahead and believe in the youngsters.
The latest blow was the tour of South Africa where India lost the Test series 1-2. Both Pujara and Rahane hit half-centuries each in six innings as the tourists regularly faced batting, especially in the middle order, leading to below-par performances.
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In an exclusive conversation with former international cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, News18 has said that if he had been India’s selector, Rahane would have dropped out of his plans two years ago, but he feels Pujara still has something to offer.
“If I am saying that this is Rahane’s last match (3rd Test vs South Africa in Cape Town), people should not wonder why I am saying this. I am sure you will say the same thing in private and other things. It is not about the runs but also how one looks on the field. It is from 2017 that Ajinkya Rahane has shown somewhere that he is a little uncertain,” Manjrekar said.
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“You can see it the way he bats, the way he bowls. It is another thing that gives clues about a player’s game. For example, Virat Kohli is not scoring a century, but he is still scoring 70 runs and having him is of great importance before finding out the form of Virat Kohli. So for me Rahane is clearly someone whose shelf life is over.”
Manjrekar says youths are being denied opportunities to prove themselves by giving more opportunities to underperforming seniors.
And secondly, when you look at the senior players, you are cutting the ropes for the younger players. Javagal Srinath was sitting out of the playing XI in his prime as the selectors were giving long ropes to some senior players. It is also important that the selectors have to take into account all those who are in contention in Indian cricket. So I would be surprised if Ajinkya Rahane gets picked for obvious reasons; The selectors should look beyond him,” Manrekar said.
Pujara has now represented India in 95 Tests and Manjrekar feels the 100-match milestone could get him a few more matches.
“Pujara is interesting, he is approaching 100 Test matches. It would take a very passionate selector to oust him. And I personally have more time for Pujara than Rahane. It’s from looking at the way he bats. No other reason. I think there is something left in Pujara, but Rahane, if I had been a selector, would have been out of my plan two years ago,” he said.
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