After India's embarrassing defeat in the WTC final vs Australia, Cheteshwar Pujara has been dropped from Rahul Dravid's squad for their upcoming two-match Test series vs West Indies in the Caribbean. Pujara was in poor form during the WTC final, at The Oval in London as India crashed to a 209-run defeat. The veteran could only register scores of 14 and 27 in both innings.
Having been a regular mainstay in India's Test setup, Pujara's time could be coming to an end. The 35-year-old has managed to register only one century in 52 innings (28 Tests) since2020 at an average of 26.69, and has only bagged only 11 half-centuries. If you exclude his scores of 90 and 102* from the Chittagong Test in December 2022, his average drops to 26.31. In two years, this is also the second time Pujara has been dropped. He was dropped during the home series vs Sri Lanka too, in 2022.
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Despite being dropped, it looks like Pujara is working hard to make a comeback. The batter posted a video on Twitter, which showed him in practice, as he showcased his shot selection. Here is the video:
{{/usCountry}}Despite being dropped, it looks like Pujara is working hard to make a comeback. The batter posted a video on Twitter, which showed him in practice, as he showcased his shot selection. Here is the video:
{{/usCountry}}The last time when he was dropped in 2022, he was back in the team for the fifth and final Test vs England at Edgbaston and managed to keep his place until now. The 16-man squad announced for the West Indies Tests also includes uncapped Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mukesh Sharma. It is also India's first series in the 2023-25 WTC cycle.
Gaikwad is considered to be Pujara's replacement. The CSK opener was a back-up in the WTC final, but had to miss out due to personal reasons. He was replaced by Jaiswal, who is also considered to be a contender for Pujara's No. 3 spot.