IND vs ENG: What Does Return in Solitary Test Mean for Cheteshwar Pujara

IND vs ENG: India’s middle-order stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara has returned to the squad for a one-off test against England. It is the 5th test from last year’s Test series that was suspended due to the Covid-19 outbreak. India are leading the Test series 2-1. The last test of the series will be played in Birmingham starting July 1. Here you will find more Cricket Predictions and analyses on the upcoming cricket matches that are being played around the globe.

Senior blocks including Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah, who have been rested in the T20 series against SA, return to the test side. Rohit Sharma will lead the team in the final test. KL Rahul has been named as the vice-captain. Both teams will have new captains as Ben Stokes has replaced Joe Root and Rohit has taken over the reins from Virat Kohli. KS Bharat has been named as the second wicket-keeper option in the team and Prasidh Krishna has earned his call for the test squad.

Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped from the Test team ahead of the series against Sri Lanka after a streak of dismal performances in tests. Ajinkya Rahane was the other big player to bear the brunt of poor form. Pujara, however, regained his form in a few matches in the Ranji trophy earlier this year. He then extended his run to the county championship.

After being ousted from the Test team and failing to find a buyer at the IPL auction, Pujara plied his trade in English County. Pujara was signed by Sussex in March this summer as a replacement for Australian batsman Travis Head. He will also be part of the Royal London one-day competition starting on August 2.

Pujara had a prolific season for Sussex in this year’s County Championship. He lit up the tournament with his two double hundreds and two hundred within a span of 7 innings. India’s test specialist has amassed 720 runs in 8 innings at an astonishing average of 120. As a result, selectors decided to reimpose faith in Pujara and picked him for the one-off test against England.

IND vs ENG: What does this return mean for Cheteshwar Pujara?

Cheteshwar Pujara has represented India in 95 Tests and has scored close to 7000 runs at a healthy average of 43.9. Pujara was the mainstay in the test side for the last 10 years before getting axed earlier this year due to his poor form. He went back to domestic cricket and did some grinding for Saurashtra to regain his form. Pujara then went to Sussex and batted as if there was no tomorrow. As a result, he was awarded a place in the fifth and final test of the long-pending series against England. But how would that serve the purpose of Pujara?

India’s bench strength is immense and the team has a pool of players to fill the voids. With the likes of Hanuma Vihari, Shreyas Iyer, and Mayank Agarwal in addition to the senior block comprising Kohli, Rohit, Rahul, and Pant, the batting order looks compact. The chances lost have been hard to find again in recent times. Pujara could be the victim of this situation. Read 10cric reviews here and learn more about how online betting works through this app.

Though he has returned for the odd test, would that be enough, it remains to be seen. India doesn’t have many Test matches lined up for the remainder of the year. With the T20 World Cup later in the year, the main focus is on the limited-overs format. Hence, Pujara doesn’t have many chances to capitalize.

He, however, could look to extend his run for whatever matches are available this year with a good performance in this solitary opportunity. Australia are touring India ahead of the T20 World Cup. India will play 4 tests in that series. India will then tour Bangladesh in November for 2 tests and 3 ODIs. The team will then play 4 tests against Australia in the early part of 2023.

If Pujara manages to pull off something magical in this odd opportunity, it will extend his run for consideration in selection meetings. Else, this opportunity will be nothing but a flash in the pan.