"Virat Kohli Has Same Average...": Ex-India Star Questions Cheteshwar Pujara's Exclusion
NDTV
The snub of Cheteshwar Pujara from India's Test squad has not been taken well by many former cricketers and experts.
After Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped from India's Test squad for the side's upcoming two-match Test series in West Indies, former India cricketer Akash Chopra pointed out that his average has been same as that of Virat Kohli in the past three years in the longest format. The announced team for the Tests and three-match ODI series against West Indies has put the selectors once again under the radar of critics. The snub of Pujara from India's Test squad has not been taken well by many former cricketers and Chopra is also among them.
"Now that Pujara is not there in the squad. The question is 'is the decision right?'. I am not going to make an opinion. I'm only going to show a few numbers of Indian batters in Test cricket in the last three years. Rohit Sharma has scored the most runs with an average of 43 in 18 matches. Shubman Gill averages 32 in 16 matches and KL Rahul 30 in 11 matches. Pujara has an average of 29.69 in 28 matches. Kohli, during the same period, also has the same average as Pujara. Kohli has played three matches more than Pujara but their averages are identical. Ajinkya Rahane, who has played 20 matches, has the poorest average, which is 26.50," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
"So these are the numbers based on which I think Pujara has been axed. You should never say never because when Ajinkya Rahane has come back like that. Cheteshwar Pujara was also dropped in between, and his performance was amazing in county cricket due to which he was given a place again in the team. He did well too but now it seems, the next WTC cycle is starting, he is not getting younger by the day and maybe the Indian team has started to look into a different direction," he added.
India's first Test against West Indies will be starting on July 12 at Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica. The second and final game of the series will kick off on July 20 at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
