Former Indian cricket star Dinesh Karthik was recently speaking to CRICBUZZ. During the chat, he was asked to name two players who could replace the experience of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in Australia.
Dinesh Karthik replied “Shubman Gill and Sarfaraz Khan. Both of those batters have done really well against England in the home series that recently happened at the start of the year. I have a feeling both of them will definitely be on that flight to Australia and will be trying to do their best. We will know if they’re able to replace both Ajinkya and Pujji (Pujara). Big shoes to fill, but they have the quality and calibre in them,”
Cheteshwar Pujara had played a huge role in each of India’s series wins in Australia in the previous two tours. The veteran batter was dropped after the World Test Championship final owing to poor form. Ajinkya Rahane was the captain of the Indian side that saw them overturn a 1-0 margin into a 2-1 series win.
Doors closed for iconic veteran duo?
India’s 2024 tour of Australia may not witness Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane for the first time. While Pujara was busy with Sussex, the other half of the pair Rahane has scored a century in English domestic cricket.
Ajinkya Rahane lasty played a Test match during the tour of West Indies in 2023. Both batters will hope to have a great domestic season in a bid to make their comeback to the Indian side.
Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik also made a massive statement on Babar Azam. The former Pakistan skipper has been enduring a tough time with the bat during the series against Bangladesh.
Speaking to CRICBUZZ, Karthik said “Babar Azam as a player, nobody can doubt his quality. He’s got outstanding batting potential, though I feel he’s under a lot of pressure as a skipper. That’s something that they need to rethink about”
The former Indian star also said “Pakistan now in that Test match against Bangladesh; I thought they declared a touch too early in the first inning. In Asia, it’s about batting big and batting long in the first inning,”