Published: Jun 10, 2015, 12:24 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 10, 2015, 02:51 PM (IST)
After a successful stint in the English county circuit for Yorkshire, middle-order batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara was expected to make a comeback in the Indian Test side. Unfortunately, there was disappointment in store for Pujara as he was ignored for the one-off Test against Bangladesh. Devarchit Varma has more
‘Performance over reputation’ is an argot that we all keep hearing in our professional lives. Be it the corporate houses or sporting clubs, the emphasis over concentrating and promoting those selective people who would perform is increasingly becoming a trait. In cricket, teams today tend to pick the men who they think are the best combination to win them matches, and there are not afraid even to drop the best of the players who are going through a slump. READ: Bangladesh make selection blunder by ignoring Rubel Hossain vs India in one-off Test
Cheteshwar Pujara has reasons to be disappointed. Away from the razzmatazz of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015, the right-handed batsmen spent months in England, played English county cricket for Yorkshire and earned success. After a sedate start, Pujara got better, in a land wherein he struggled during India’s tour in 2014, and worked on his batting really hard to come up with few very encouraging and confidence-boosting performances with the bat. READ: Bangladesh can benefit from Shakib Al Hasan’s IPL experience during series against India
Pujara played four matches for Yorkshire in the early stages of the county championship, and returned with a half-century and a brilliant 133 not out against Hampshire, which set the platform for Yorkshire’s win in the game. However, little did Pujara know that this would not be enough and these performances would not earn him a place in the Indian Test side. READ: Rahim playing solely as a batsman in one-off Test vs India could help him regain lost form
A run machine in the Indian domestic circuit and having proved his mettle in early stages of his career, Pujara certainly did not live up the promise in last couple of tours. With 280 runs in two Tests in South Africa, Pujara topped the batting chart but has since gone through a slump. The two Tests in New Zealand were a horror for him, as Pujara averaged a poor 15 with mere 60 runs in four outings.
Like the rest of the other young Indian batsmen, Pujara was all at sea in England wherein the moving ball exposed the Indian batsman. However, he had one half-century to his name in the five-Test series, which was surely not what the Indian cricket team would expect from a batsman of the stature of Pujara. READ: India should not face obstacles in steamrolling Bangladesh
Pujara did recover a bit in Australia, but he was not as emphatic as his other teammates such as Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, who did the bulk of the scoring for India. Pujara, who bats at the coveted No. 3 spot and has been time and again compared to Rahul Dravid, once again did not live up to the reputation of being the run machine, as he is known.
India’s decision to drop Pujara for the one-off Test in Bangladesh tells us that the team does not want to take focus away from winning Test matches while giving chance to struggling players. Pujara has slipped, and the confidence is certainly nowhere to be seen in the last couple of outings. He does not bat with the same authority anymore as he used to do in his initial few seasons, and looks like he will have a tough time forcing his way back into the Indian Test side. READ: Harbhajan Singh’s comeback crucial for India’s future
The exclusion of Pujara also proves that the Indian think tank is pragmatic, and it is ready to take harsh steps, of course, for the betterment of players. Also, there is no place for sentiment. Had Pujara been playing this Test, he would have had a perfect platform to prove that he is back among runs. But for now, he will have to wait.
Pujara would feel disappointed with this snub but deep inside he would know that there is no way he can make it back to this Indian team but by scoring runs. He could have had his chance against Bangladesh, but the non-selection is unfortunate, and one would only expect that this spurs him to do even better in the future. READ: Ravichandran Ashwin’s litmus Test against Bangladesh
(Devarchit Varma is a reporter with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)
