Don’t See Ajinkya Rahane And Cheteshwar Pujara Coming Back: Ajay Jadeja

Former Indian player Ajay Jadeja said he doesn’t feel senior players Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara will make a come back to the Indian Test side.

On Saturday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced squads for Tests and T20Is for the upcoming bilateral series against Sri Lanka.

Rohit Sharma, who is the current captain of the limited-overs team, was named the Test captain of the team after Virat Kohli resigned from the role last month after a 2-1 series defeat to South Africa in their backyard. Rohit will lead the Indian team in all formats.

Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara dropped for the Sri Lanka Tests

Senior players like Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha and Ishant Sharma were dropped from the Test squad while youngsters like Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, Priyank Panchal, Saurabh Kumar, Srikar Bharat found a place in the 18-member Indian Test squad.

It was inevitable for Rahane and Pujara to lose their spots on the Indian Test side after inconsistency with their batting performance for a long time. Pujara scored 602 runs at an average of 24.08 in 14 Test matches in the last year, while Rahane made 460 runs in 13 Tests at 20.00 during the same period.

Although Chetan Sharma, BCCI’s Chairman of the selectors, said the door is not closed for the senior duo, it is an arduous task for them to make a comeback on the Indian Test side.

Dropping Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara after losing one series is unfair: Ajay Jadeja

Jadeja said that it will be difficult for the duo to push their selection further for the Indian team but wasn’t happy with the decision to drop the duo after losing just one series.

“Both are single-format players, and when you leave them out of that one format, I don’t see them coming back. I hope I am wrong because these are stalwarts. They have played 80-90 Test matches. There is enough talent that is around. The next generation that has come has pushed them,” Jadeja said on Cricbuzz.

“It is sad. If it was done a year and a half ago, when India were still at the top and winning, I would have backed that decision. Dropping Rahane and Pujara after losing one series is unfair. Then you are singling out these two, and that’s not the way to build sides,” he added.

India starts their bilateral series against Sri Lanka on February 24 with the three-match T20I series followed by a couple of Test matches, with the first Test scheduled to begin on March 4 in Mohali.

Also Read: It’s Not The End Of The Road For Ajinkya Rahane And Cheteshwar Pujara, Says Aakash Chopra