There Is Still Something Left In Cheteshwar Pujara; But Ajinkya Rahane Is Out Of My Plans: Sanjay Manjrekar

Former India batter-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has opined on the futures of veteran India middle-order batters Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane and said that while Pujara has some fuel left in his tank, for him, Ajinkya Rahane was out of plans if he was a selector.

The duo has been a regular presence in India’s Test eleven but they have been plagued by inconsistent performances especially Rahane resulting in demands the selectors move on and put faith in youngsters now. Both of them have struggled to get big runs under the belt with Cheteshwar Pujara’s last Test ton coming in 2019 in Sydney and Ajinkya Rahane making one century in Melbourne in 2020.

They have managed to hold onto their places in the XI with some important contributions like Pujara’s gritty knocks in India’s 2020-21 Test series win in Australia, while Rahane scored two half-centuries, one against England at Lord’s and one against South Africa recently to keep himself afloat.

Both Pujara and Rahane managed a fifty each across six innings as the tourists suffered regular batting collapses, especially in the middle-order leading to below-par performances.

Sanjay Manjrekar in a conversation with News18 said if he was a BCCI selector Rahane would have been out of his plans two years ago.

“If I am saying that it is Rahane’s last match (3rd Test vs South Africa in Cape Town), people should not wonder why I am saying that. I am sure you say the same thing privately, and the others. It’s not about runs but also how someone looks in the field. It’s from 2017 that Ajinkya Rahane somewhere has shown that he is a little unsure,” Manjrekar said.

“You can see it in the way he bats, the way he gets out. That’s another thing that gives an indication about a player’s game. For example, Virat Kohli is not getting a hundred but he is still putting out 70s and there is great value in having Virat Kohli before he discovers form. So Rahane for me is clearly somebody that has a shelf life that is over,” he added.

I Personally Have More Time For Cheteshwar Pujara Than Ajinkya Rahane: Sanjay Manjrekar

On the other hand, Manjrekar was more sympathetic about Cheteshwar Pujara’s future in the Indian Test team. Though he said that by giving more chances to under-performing seniors, the youngsters are being denied opportunities to prove themselves.

“And the other thing is when you see senior players, you are cutting the rope for younger players. Javagal Srinath in his prime was sitting out of the playing XI because the selectors were giving a longer rope to some senior players. It’s also important that selectors have to keep everyone in Indian cricket who is in contention in mind. So I’ll be surprised if Ajinkya Rahane gets picked for obvious reasons; selectors should look at someone beyond him,” Manjrekar observed.

However, Manjrekar felt that Pujara, who had played 95 Tests, the milestone of 100 matches could see him get a few more matches.

“Pujara is interesting, he’s coming close to 100 Test matches. It will need a very unemotional selector to leave him out. And I personally have more time for Pujara than Rahane. This is from observing the way they bat. No other reason. I feel there is something left in Pujara, but Rahane, if I would have been the selector, would have been out of my plans two years back,” he said.

India will next play Test cricket against Sri Lanka at home.

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