Veteran batter axed for WI tour; Jaiswal and Gaikwad get the nod

NEW DELHI: The national selection panel on Friday effectively brought curtains down on veteran Cheteshwar Pujara’s international career by dropping him from Indian Test squad for the two-Test series against the West Indies, starting July 12.

Inclusion of powerhouse domestic performers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the 16-member squad is a clear indication that the four-member panel, headed by Shiv Sunder Das, is now looking at the next two-year World Test Championship cycle (2023-2025).

The other significant development was Ajinkya Rahane’s re-appointment as the vice-captain of the Test side just after making an international comeback in the previous game.

While Mohammed Shami has been given complete rest from both Tests and ODIs after nearly three months of hectic competitive cricket, the selectors have indeed started the phasing out process by dropping the profligate Umesh Yadav and bringing in the consistent Kolkata seamer Mukesh Kumar in the main squad.

Navdeep Saini, whose career had been on a free-fall since the historic tour of Australia, also gets a chance for resurrection as his hit-the-deck (140 clicks) bowling might be effective on the slow Caribbean tracks.

All three new entrants -- Jaiswal, Gaikwad and Mukesh -- were the stand-by players for the WTC final.

Pujara unlikely to make acomeback soon

When Pujara was dropped for the home series against Sri Lanka along with Rahane, the former chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma had said that doors were not closed for the gritty No.3 and he could get back to first-class cricket and earn his stripes.

Pujara went back to County Cricket and played for Sussex. He scored tons of runs and was recalled for the one-off Test against England in 2022 and also got a chance to complete 100 Tests milestone in the series against Australia this year.

“Once he failed in Australia series at home, there was very little chance for him but selectors didn’t want to change things ahead of WTC final,” a BCCI source said.

If Pujara’s knocks of 90 and 102 against Bangladesh are taken away, he has scored at a poor average of 26 in the last three years and perhaps got a very long rope for non-performance.

“It is a two-year cycle and you can’t just make wholesale changes. Pujara hasn’t been scoring for three years. Difference between a Virat Kohli and a Pujara has been the rhythm. Yes, Kohli also has had a dry spell but he never looked out of form,” the source said.

Jaiswal, Gaikwad earmarked for future

After he scored 213 and 144 in the Irani Cup for Rest of India against MP, the stylish Mumbai left-hander Jaiswal was expected to earn his maiden Test call-up.

With a first-class average of 80.21, Jaiswal has shown that he is a special talent and needed to be fast-tracked.

In pre-IPL days, the selectors would always be wary of temperament of domestic performers at the highest level but one good thing about IPL is a chance to test one’s skills against the best in the world.

Both Jaiswal and Gaikwad, who plays for Maharashtra, can open and bat at number three. If they forge a good combination at top in future, there is every chance that Shubman Gill can bat at the coveted No. 4 position as and when Kohli decides to move on.

SQUADS:Test: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat and Navdeep Saini. ODI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar