As, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Team India squad for the upcoming T20I and Test series against Sri Lanka at home starting next week, not one or two but four senior players were axed as the selection committee gave first signs of the team moving towards the transition phase. Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha and Ishant Sharma were dropped and the legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar suggested that the decision was expected in the case of the first two.
Gavaskar reckoned that after the series against South Africa the writing was on the wall for both Rahane and Pujara as there weren’t too many big scores from the duo in the past year or so.
Speaking to Sports Tak, Gavaskar said, “It was expected. If in the three Tests in South Africa, one of them had hit a century or played an innings of 80-90 runs, then it would have been a different matter. Yes, Ajinkya Rahane played an attractive knock. But apart from that, there weren’t enough runs from them when it was expected and when the team needed the runs.
However, Gavaskar was of the view that it may not be the end of the road for both of them and if they can pile up runs in the ongoing Ranji Trophy, they can surely come back but they will have to score consistently as it could become difficult for them if yoong players who will get the opportunity against Sri Lanka perform well.
“They can come back. Why not? If they show good form in the Ranji Trophy, scoring 200-250 in every Ranji Trophy match, then they can definitely come back. But right now, after this series, India just have a one-off Test with England and then we play Tests only towards the end of the year. So I feel time won’t be on their side.
“They’ll both be in their mid 30s. And in your mid 30s if you have opened the door for some younger players, and those players grasp their opportunities, then it will be difficult to make a comeback,” he further added.
