ENG Vs IND 2018: Dropping Cheteshwar Pujara Shows Depth in India's Batting Line-Up - Mike Hussey

India left out mainstay in their top-order Cheteshwar Pujara from the opening Test against England which started on Wednesday (August 1) in Birmingham. Eventually, Australian middle-order batsman, Mike Hussey believes India’s batting depth has prompted skipper Virat Kohli to look for an alternative.

It was a surprising call especially given the fact that Pujara is a class Test batsman. However, he didn’t have a great time in England last time around.

During Pujara’s stint with Yorkshire earlier in the year, he failed to prove a point. He managed runs at quite a below-par average. Hence, he was left out of the team in favor of KL Rahul.

Read Here: Golden Act of Cheteshwar Pujara

Former Australia batsman Hussey feels that dropping Cheteshwar Pujara from the playing XI goes on to indicate they have some great batters in their ranks.

Having the luxury of leaving out Pujara in favor of Rahul, Hussey feels that it was on the basis of current form that Rahul got a nod over Pujara for the Edgbaston Test.

Dropping Cheteshwar Pujara proves the strength of India’s batting, says Mike Hussey

“The dropping of Pujara from the squad for the first test (against England) is really good sign of strength for India. It suggests India is a good side with the strong batting lineup. Both Pujara and Rahul are good batsmen. But sometimes a team goes for a batsman who is playing batting better than the other at a given point of time,” Hussey said.

Meanwhile, the former Aussie batter further stated that India has a great chance of winning the Test series in Australia, later in the year.

Mike Hussey admitted India’s batting strength is the key. They will face a weak Australian side sans David Warner and Steven Smith in December-January.

India have a great chance of winning the Test series Down-Under

“I am a little worried about Australia’s batting. It is because we are missing two of our best batsmen in Smith and Warner. It is a wonderful chance for India to win its first ever Test series in Australia,” Hussey told reporters at the sidelines of a Karnataka Premier League (KPL) event in Bengaluru.

Read Here: Ravichandran Ashwin Ahead of Kuldeep Yadav in XI

However, Hussey did agree that the Indian batsmen will have to work hard if the Aussie pace attack led by Mitchell Starc bowls at a lethal pace.

“If Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathon Lyon are fit and firing. India will have to work hard for runs. Australia has an excellent bowling attack,” he said. 

Hussey further added that both Ricky Ponting and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are balanced captains and individuals when asked how does he feel about the two.

“Both Ricky Ponting and MS Dhoni – they are very much balanced players. When things are going down and moving up, they keep themselves in a small range. They are not emotional people and that rubs on rest of the team,” he said.

When asked that whether the Windies cricketers from the past year could have made a difference in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Hussey said that Viv Richards and Gary Sobers would have garnered huge price in the auction.

“The West Indians would stand out as exciting players in IPL because they are good entertainers and enjoy aggressive cricket. Gary Sobers and Viv Richards could have been most sought-after players in the auction. Also, their fast bowling quartet would have gone for a price,” he said.