Cheteshwar Pujara, the former Indian top order bat has been amongst the runs for Sussex in the English County Championship. It is not only the quantum of runs that he has scored so far but the manner of the runs scored, that is what makes his performance so far much more impressive. With such a performance, Pujara serves a timely reminder to the Indian selectors.
It is raining hundreds for Pujara
In 4 games so far, Pujara has scored 4 hundreds including a couple of doubles hundreds and a 173 not out. These are impressive numbers no doubt but when you scratch the surface, it makes one wonder whether these runs were scored against a good attack. First of all, let us remind ourselves that Sussex is in division two of the County Championship. This essentially means that the quality of cricket and of the teams will be of a lower rung when compared to division one.
At the moment, Sussex is placed 2nd from bottom. Nonetheless, to score 4 hundreds with 3 of them, as Gooch will call it, daddy hundreds, is not a mean achievement. Pujara does deserve credit for making use of the chance that he has been given. With cricket in India being taken over by IPL during the summer and with Pujara not considered for any franchise for a very longtime except for one year by CSK, he did really well to opt for an English contract. In doing so, he ensured that he remained match fit and in the thick of things.
The strike rate is impressive
It is not just the quantum of runs that he has amassed that is worth noting but the way in which he has scored them carries even more significance. Pujara’s strike rate is in excess of 70 in all those games. Where was this side of his game for all these years? What made him bat so conservatively? This is the Pujara that the team needs. If only he had scored if not in the 70s, atleast in the 50s, his personal score would have been substantial and he could have put the Indian team in a much better position.
Weak bowling attack or strong bowling attack, the bigger picture is that at a time when Virat Kohli is struggling to make runs, he has reminded the Indian selectors that he still very much in the scheme of things. India will be involved in the 5th and final test that will decide whether the series is won by India or will be drawn in the month of July. It is a given that India will go into the game with lack of first class game practise and lack of acclimatisation to the English conditions. I don’t see them play any game with any of the county sides before the series begins. Hence, all the players will go straight from white ball to the red ball and that too in alien conditions.
Indian batting is not on solid ground
We have all seen how India has struggled in 2011, 2015 & 2018. Losing 0-4, 1-3 & 1-4. Yes, last year the team played extremely well but let us not forget that the Lord’s test could have well been lost if not for a freak partnership between Bumrah and Shami. Let us not assume that the batsmen in 2021 were brilliant. Far from it. That partnership and a sublime hundred by Rohit alongwith brilliant bowling from all the bowlers have ensured that we are leading the series.
This time, however, things will be different. England has a new captain in Ben Stokes and with the expected return of Archer and Stone, their bowling is likely to be solidified. They have a lot of points to prove after a disastrous Ashes and the tour of West Indies, not to mention just one win out of 13 in 2021. Stokes is new to the job and he will want to start his captaincy innings in a positive manner.
With a lack of preparation, England will start as favourite
England very well know that it is just a matter of playing 5 days of solid cricket and the series will be drawn. In their own conditions, they know everything pretty well. On the otherhand, India will not be having a solid preparation and will approach the test not as a firm favourite but somewhat circumspect. This is exactly where the experience of Pujara in English conditions for 3 months will prove invaluable.
Things for India will not be this dire if not for the form of Kohli. Rohit Sharma was solid last year but with additional pressure of being the captain, an inform and performing Kohli will be solid backing for Rohit. At the current rate, Kohli will perhaps be the 2014 version of himself rather than the 2018 version. It is not just Kohli that is a worry. India, assuming that Pujara is not included, will perhaps have less experience in the middle order with Vihari and Shreyas Iyer.
Shreyas Iyer is a worry
Vihari looks solid and I do think that he will do well in overseas conditions but the worry is Shreyas Iyer. He is a sitting duck against the short ball and there are bound to be lot of them in England. He does not leave the short ball nor does he plays it well, rather, he plays some ungainly shots and ends up losing his wicket. With just 5 specialist batsmen and an unproven Pant & Jadeja in England, India cannot afford someone like Shreyas Iyer in the middle. The Indian middle order needs solid backing and Pujara has just about at the right time has been scoring runs.
Conclusion to Pujara serves a timely reminder
I cannot believe this because I was among the many who called for Pujara to be dropped after South Africa, when I write that maybe just maybe, India needs Pujara in England. If among Rahane and Pujara, one of them deserves a chance to comeback, it must be Pujara.
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