3 reasons why BCCI should recall Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara for England series

India’s Test cricket team is set to sport a new look ahead of the coming England tour in June. Three senior players have retired from the format in a space of five months. Ravichandran Ashwin retired from the sport in the middle of the Australian series. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli then followed suit this month to end yet another prolific chapter in Indian cricket. 

Any tour of England will be challenging for players who lack experience, as the conditions favour the home team’s bowlers. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja are the only players who have a good amount of experience playing in England. Rohit and Virat’s retirements also have left a huge void in India’s batting department. The question now is if it’s time for BCCI to recall two senior players in this transition phase?

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane both played their last Test for India in 2023. The duo for over a decade played a key role in the longest format. Pujara was a key figure for India in the twin series wins over Australia in 2018 and 2020. Rahane, on the other hand, has always been known to be a rock in the middle order. The 36-year-old also led India successfully to the Border Gavaskar Trophy win in 2020 with a depleted side. 

Here are the top 3 reasons why Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane should be recalled

3- Lack of experience in batting order

Yashasvi Jaiswal is set to play his first series in England, while Shubman Gill doesn’t have great numbers in this part of the world. The likes of Sai Sudharsan, Karun Nair, and possibly Sarfaraz Khan too aren’t that experienced as far as international cricket is concerned. Sudharsan and Nair may have played county cricket but Test matches in England are a different challenge.

Both Pujara and Rahane have been part of three tours of England before. The veteran duo can bat well in the middle order and offset the loss of Rohit and Virat and guide the younger players. Both veteran batters have also scored decent runs in the previous domestic season, with Pujara in particular having played a few seasons of county cricket for Sussex. 

2- Pujara is an experienced number three batter

37-year-old batter Cheteshwar Pujara can replace Shubman Gill at number three and let the 25-year-old open the batting once more. Pairing Gill and Jaiswal at the top can also help India continue the left- and right-hand combination. Pujara has batted 155 times at the number three spot, scoring 6529 runs with an average of 44 with 18 tons and 32 fifties. 

New ball plays a key role in England and if India lose either of their openers, then Pujara can come in and play his natural game. Considering his experience of playing in such conditions where the ball tends to swing and seam, Pujara can negate the English pace bowling unit with his dour defence. India’s batting order can then build their innings around Pujara and take the attack to the English bowlers. 

1. Is Rahane a likely number four replacement?

Virat Kohli’s retirement has opened up the huge spot for the important number four spot in the batting order. Rahane has scored over 5000 runs in Test cricket and can be tried at the number four spot to replace India’s former skipper. The right-handed batter has done well in England previously with a match-winning tonne at Lord’s during the 2014 tour. Rahane negated Anderson and Broad on a green seaming track to help India post a decent first innings total. 

Rahane has also been in good run-scoring form for Mumbai and Kolkata Knight Riders recently. Even as far as the leadership is concerned, Rahane can be a great sounding board to the new captain, having led India in the past. The veteran batter can play as the situation demands, as he is still very good with his defence and also attack, as seen in the past few seasons of IPL. 

Conclusion: Will BCCI actually pick the duo?

BCCI may not pick the veteran duo and look to invest in the future. The likes of Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ishan Kishan, and Sai Sudharsan will be the players to carry India’s Test baton for the next decade. Rahane and Pujara, though, have a lot of experience and will be needed for India in what could be a difficult tour coming up. While investment in youth is the right call, one cannot throw the youngsters into deep sea. A few failures could really affect the morale and also their future. This is where the experience of both Rahane and Pujara comes to the fore for the next few series, both home and away.