Pujara Returns To Indian Squad: Cheteshwar Pujara’s brilliant show at country cricket in England has earned him a spot in India’s squad for the final test against England in July.
Team India was 2-1 ahead when the last game of the 5-match test series at Old Trafford was canceled due to an increase in Covid-19 cases in the Indian camp and Edgbaston will now host the game from July 1.
Earlier this year, Pujara was dropped after the South Africa tour, but he was picked up again in the 17-member squad after a splendid batting performance for Sussex which includes two and two double hundreds, in the 5 County Championship Division games.
“I was positive, there was no doubt about it. The way my county stint went, I was hopeful that I will make a comeback to the Indian team. But when I went to play county cricket, the India comeback was never on my mind; I just wanted to find my rhythm and I knew one big inning would help me find my rhythm back.” Pujara told the Indian Express.
Both Pujara and Rahane were considered the pillars of the Indian test batting lineup for the last 7-8 years, but their past 1 and a half month performances were not up to the mark, resulting in both losing their spot after high criticism due to continuous failures.
However, the 34-year-old Pujara managed to make a return to the Indian test squad, courtesy of his excellent run at the county championship. While Ajinkya Rahane, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022, witnessed a dreary season with bat and he didn’t find a place.
The one-off Test between India and England will start on July 1 at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham.
India Squad – Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna
