After removing KL Rahul from the vice-captaincy post, Team India dropped the star opener from their playing XI for the 3rd Test against Australia in the high-profile Border-Gavaskar Trophy. With an out-of-form Rahul making way for Shubman Gill, former Australian spinner Brad Hogg observed that the hosts played their cards right by dropping the ex-Indian vice-captain from the playing XI.
India had replaced struggling opener Rahul with in-form opener Gill while Umesh Yadav was preferred over Mohammed Shami for the 3rd Test against Australia. Sharing his views on YouTube, former Australian spinner Hogg spoke at length about Rahul's axing from the Indian lineup. "India got rid of KL Rahul in the last Test match, which I think was a good thing. There was an opportunity to bring Shubman Gill in, and I thought that was a perfect scenario," Hogg said.
Talking about India's star-studded batting lineup in the longest format, Hogg observed that the Indian think tank can also consider shortlisting a longtime replacement of a seasoned campaigner. Hogg pointed out that Team India had earlier replaced former vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane with Shreyas Iyer, who capped off a stellar season last year.
{{/usCountry}}Talking about India's star-studded batting lineup in the longest format, Hogg observed that the Indian think tank can also consider shortlisting a longtime replacement of a seasoned campaigner. Hogg pointed out that Team India had earlier replaced former vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane with Shreyas Iyer, who capped off a stellar season last year.
{{/usCountry}}Issuing a bold statement amid the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023, Hogg revealed his surprise pick while suggesting the future replacement of veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara. “India have got rid of Ajinkya Rahane and got Shreyas Iyer in. So there are a few changes there. You've got to have that mixture of youth and experience, and I think India are doing it very well at the moment. If Cheteshwar Pujara starts dropping off again over the next year, you'll see another young player come in. It could be a Prithvi Shaw-type player,” the former Australian cricketer added.
Pujara, who recently became the 13th Indian cricketer to play 100 Test matches, played a crucial knock for Rohit Sharma and Co. in the 3rd Test against Australia. The 35-year-old scored 59 off 142 balls in the low-scoring encounter at Indore. However, Pujara's batting heroics went in vain as Australia defeated India by 9 wickets at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.
Former Australian spinner Hogg asserted that Indian skipper Rohit can bat down the order in Pujara's absence. "You might see Rohit Sharma, with his experience, just go down the order a bit and have Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill open and set up that opening combination for another ten years in the future," Hogg concluded.