What does the future hold for Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in the Indian Test team? The veteran duo has time and again bailed out India from tough situations. But, their form at present has been less than impressive.
As the Indian cricketing spectrum contemplates whether Rahane and Pujara should be persisted with, Dinesh Karthik is of the opinion that head coach Rahul Dravid will go into the series with a tried and tested combination.
The emergence of Mayank Agarwal, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer has given the team management a problem of plenty. The form of Agarwal and Iyer, both of whom slammed a century each against New Zealand in the 2-match Test series, has put Pujara and Rahane under pressure.
Hanuma Vihari, who was sent to South Africa with the India A squad, also has two fifties to his name from the tour. But, Karthik isn’t sure where exactly does Vihari fit into the Indian team despite impressing for India A in South Africa.
“This whole group of KL Rahul, Rohit and Mayank will be the three openers, followed by Pujara, Rahane and Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill will be the batters. Don’t know what will happen to Hanuma Vihari. Ideally, he should have been part of the squad, but it’s sad that he had to go and play for India A. Are they going to fit him in when he comes back to the squad? Because everyone here has done enough to hold on to their places.
“Even the ones getting 30s and 40s, which cannot be undervalued, have looked set on tough wickets. Kanpur and Mumbai were not easy wickets. They applied themselves and played good shots. So where does a Vihari fit in that’s an important question. Has Iyer done enough to come and take over Vihari’s place,” he said on Cricbuzz.
Speaking of Rahane, Karthik feels the future of India’s Test vice-captain is hanging by a thread. Though the situation is tempting to introduce a change, Karthik doesn’t feel either of Rahane and Pujara will face the axe, especially considering Dravid is the head coach.
“Another man there who is hanging on by the skin of the teeth is Rahane. He is the vice-captain and has done phenomenally well as a captain. Where does he stand? But knowing Rahul Dravid, he will go with the tried and tested method of going with Pujara and Rahane to start with and then when things unfold he will allow it to unravel and makes changes necessary. All these guys will be on the plane to South Africa and will be in the XI as well. Don’t see too many changes as well, maybe one odd change,” he explained.
Rahane produced scores of 35 and 4 in the Kanpur Test which led to his average being dropped to 24.39 in the last 16 matches. He missed the Mumbai Test due to a hamstring niggle.
