Published: Aug 27, 2015, 05:30 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 27, 2015, 06:36 PM (IST)
After briefly justifying the reputation as India’s next ‘solid’ batsman, Cheteshwar Pujara has suffered an incomprehensible stagnation since the middle of 2014. He is gaining participation in another Test, as he is expected to open the innings for India against Sri Lanka in the third Test, but without any guarantee about the near future. Abhishek Mukherjee writes about the current scenario he faces. SCORECARD: India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Colombo
Cheteshwar Pujara, for long touted India’s next ‘wall’, has somehow not felt at home in the format he is regarded to be ideally suited to, Test cricket, in the last year and a half. Two half-centuries in 20 innings suggests, despite starts, suggests a failure to flow freely or getting ‘set’ after doing the initial hard work. After being ignored by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises this year, he signed for Yorkshire, and scored a century and a half-century in six innings, including a match-winning unbeaten knock of 133 against Hampshire in his last First-Class game in Britain. In the lead-up to the Test series in Sri Lanka, he built starts in six innings in the India A fixtures against South Africa A, and the warm-up game against Sri Lankan President’s XI, but converted only one of them to a half-century.
Pujara’s average in Tests, however, stands at a healthy 47.11, because of the impressive start he provided to his career with two centuries and two double-centuries within a span of the seven months since he became a regular in the side following the retirement of Rahul Dravid. His temperament was observed to be one that suited a mature accumulator of runs, one who cuts his risks and refrains from exaggerated style for maximum results. There were a number of Indian batsmen who struggled in India’s tour of England 2014— the most prominent being Virat Kohli and Pujara — but while Kohli made up for problems in seaming conditions with a stellar Australia tour, and Pujara gradually went downhill. READ: Naman Ohja admits to be under pressure on Test call
In search of the ‘zone’ he always was, as he has himself confessed, but like England’s captain Alastair Cook, no matter how long he would be at the crease, there would never come a time he would not be jittery. In a battle of attrition, the bowler would win by keeping his persistence. Result? He was omitted for the fourth Test in Australia, after a middling performance in the three Tests before it, scoring 201 runs at 33.50, and has not participated in India’s Test endeavours after it.
Rohit Sharma, the man tested to stake a claim at the No. 3 spot due to Pujara’s indifferent show, has himself been out of sorts. His 79 in the first innings at the P Sara Oval, however, has prompted the team management to keep him there, and include Pujara only due to an injury to their first-choice opener Murali Vijay. Like VVS Laxman famously, Pujara is most comfortable in the middle-order, but he has no choice but to compromise to play for India again. READ: Virat Kohli indicates Cheteshwar Pujara could open in India vs Sri Lanka 3rd Test
What lies in the near future for him? Will he be ignored from the side regardless of the number of runs he scores in the upcoming game? Even if Rohit keeps failing, there are other players, a lot of whom played in the limited-overs series in Zimbabwe, who may be tried out.
The earlier half of Pujara’s professional career consisted questions on how much longer he may have to wait before receiving the well-deserved chance to play for India, but then it was not easy to see such roadblocks so early into his international career. He is not cut of the same cloth as some other batsmen who may maximise their impact and recognition through the IPL.
Like he displays in his batting, the answer is patience. He will hope that the phase will pass; the mist will clear. His first target will be to do justice to the placid track at the SSC in Colombo, by batting long, and thereby taking steps to make up for lost bargaining power.
(Abhishek Mukherjee is a reporter with CricketCountry. His Twitter handle is @bhejafryyy)
