Veteran Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara is back in contention for a spot in the national side for the upcoming tour of Australia. Times of India reported that the 36-year-old could be given a recall for the Border Gavaskar Trophy starting on 22nd November. The right-handed batter scored a mammoth 234 for Saurashtra in the previous game against Chhattisgarh.
There were also reports that Nitish Kumar Reddy could be in line for his first call-up to the test team. The youngster managed to impress everyone with his batting and bowling during his debut series against Bangladesh. According to the reports by Times of India, the selectors could pick the team on the 28th of October which is the last day of the India vs New Zealand Pune Test.
Cheteshwar Pujara last played for India against Australia during the World Test Championships finals. Poor form with the bat has seen the veteran star being overlooked as Shubman Gill has been given his number 3 spot in the team. Ever since his axe, Pujara has scored runs for Sussex and Saurashtra to show his form.
Can Pujara make it to the team for the Australian tour?
Ajit Agarkar and the rest of the selection committee will be keen to add more experience to India’s batting order. The decision to include Pujara could be the right ploy considering his past success down under. The form of KL Rahul could also see the decision in favour of the 36-year-old veteran batter.
Pujara played a key role in India’s wins in 2018/19 and 2020/21 tours. His 521 runs during the 2018 tour enabled India to win their first-ever tour of Australia. With Rohit Sharma likely to miss a game owing to the impending birth of his child, Pujara could also be asked to open the batting.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra recently said, “Will India consider Pujara for Border Gavaskar Trophy? Everyone forgot that Pujara’s body had turned blue due to the number of balls that hit him during the previous Test series in Australia.”
The 47-year-old also said, “There is no defensive batter like him in the current team. Is India thinking of taking him to Australia? I am not sure if they are but should they? He has scored 18 double-centuries in first-class cricket. He is cricket’s pujari and his name is Pujara”. The 36-year-old has scored over 7000 runs from 103 games to be one of the most successful batters in the longest format after Virat Kohli in the current era.