Cheteshwar Pujara Speaks Out After Being Dropped from India's Australia Test Series Squad

Pujara, who was last seen playing for India in the final of the World Test Championship last year, has been left out of the Test set-up and is now focusing on scoring runs for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy and Sussex in the English County Championship. Despite being a key player in India's batting lineup for several years, Pujara was not selected by the BCCI selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar. There were speculations about his comeback due to India's middle-order woes, but his name was absent from the squad when it was announced.

Finally, four days after the BCCI announced the 18-member list, Pujara took to his social media handles and shared a small clip of him training. "Sore today, strong tomorrow," Pujara captioned the post. A veteran of 103 Tests, Pujara has a fine record against Australia, scoring 993 runs in 11 games at an average of 47.28. He was named Player of the Series during India's historic 2018/19 tour Down Under.

While Pujara is burning up the charts for Saurashtra – he recently pummelled 234 against Chhattisgarh – his replacement at No. 3, Shubman Gill, has blown hot and cold. After scoring a century against Bangladesh in Chennai and 452 runs from four Tests in England earlier this year, Gill has had a very indifferent run in the ongoing series against New Zealand.

As scores of 39, 30 and 23 prove, he has had starts but failed to convert them into big ones, a trait Pujara was a master at. He would grind, grind and grind - his effective footwork against Nathan Lyon in the last two series turned out to be a deal-breaker for India.