Chetan Sharma’s selection committee finally ran out of patience and decided to drop experienced middle-order batsman Ajinkya Rahane and No.3 specialist Cheteshwar Pujara for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting March 4. The first Test will be played at Mohali, which will be Virat Kohli’s 100th game, and the second at Bangalore.
The other experienced duo dropped from the Test squad are Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha.
The selection committee chief told reporters during a virtual interaction on Saturday that the four senior players have been told to play Ranji Trophy.
Rahane shines for Mumbai
While Mumbai’s Rahane got a scintillating 129 against defending champions Saurashtra at Motera and Pujara was dismissed for a duck in the first innings, Ishant and Saha were unavailable for the first round matches.
Chetan stressed the door is not closed on these veterans. “Just for two Test matches, the selectors wanted to give chances to other players. We are nobody to close doors on anyone. The doors are open for them. This is a game of cricket where you have to score runs, pick up wickets and then you can play for the country. The tournament [Ranji Trophy] is happening after a long while, so we thought it would be good if they go back there and perform,” Chetan said.
Poor Test form
Rahane and Pujara have been under the scanner with runs drying up. The Mumbai batsman last scored a Test ton in December 2020 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Saurashtra legend’s last three-figure score came during the 2018-19 Australia tour. During the last tour to South Africa, where India lost 1-2 despite winning the opening Test, Rahane finished with 136 runs from three Tests with a best of 58 in the second Test. Pujara returned with 124 runs in six innings with one half-century in the second innings of the Johannesburg Test.
Rahane’s ton on the eve of the selection was not enough for him to retain his place. “Where Rahane is lacking is for you to assess. For me, Rahane is a big player. Sometimes the graph goes up and down, so when it happens, the selection committee thought let them go back to basics. Let them get runs, have some confidence and rhythm back,” Chetan said.
