‘Bande ki khas problem hai Virat se’- Fans react as Sunil Gavaskar bashes Indian Cricket Board for dropping Cheteshwar Pujara

Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara’s omission was one of the major discussion points following the announcement of India’s squad for the two-Test series against the West Indies next month. It has been predicted that Yashasvi Jaiswal or Shubhman Gill will take over the No.3 slot that Pujara carved out for himself over the previous decade. Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticized the selectors for leaving only Pujara out of the team for the upcoming series.

Except for Ajinkya Rahane, the whole Indian batting team failed to produce in the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia early this month. Yet, according to Gavaskar, Pujara (who scored 14 and 27 runs in the game) was the only one who made the scapegoat. The 1983 World Cup winner feels Pujara may still contribute significantly to the Indian cricket team. He believes the Saurashtra-based batter can play till he is 40.

Cheteshwar Pujara wasn’t the only one who failed: Sunil Gavaskar

Speaking to India Today, Gavaskar said, “Yeah, he has been playing county cricket. He has played a lot of red-ball cricket, so he knows what it is about. People can play till they are 40 or 39. There is nothing wrong because they are all very fit. As long as you are scoring the runs and taking wickets, I don’t think age should be a factor.”

“Clearly, only one man has been singled out while others also failed. To me, the batting failed. Apart from Ajinkya Rahane, of course, in both innings, he got 89 and 46, nobody else really got runs.”

He further added, “Why is he [Cheteshwar Pujara] dropped then? Why is he being made the scapegoat for our batting failures? He has been a servant of Indian cricket, a loyal servant. Because he doesn’t have millions of followers on whatever platforms who would make a noise in case he gets dropped?” “I mean, you dropped him? That is beyond understanding. What is the criteria for dropping him and keeping the others who failed?”

Pujara failed to deliver in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as well. He has 140 runs in six innings, including only one half-century.

Here’s how fans reacted

https://twitter.com/being_sunny1/status/1672436207802875905?s=20

T20 World Cup me koi indian player chala jab india ko jarut tha sirf kohli chala.agar kohli pakistan ke khilaf nahi chalta to.tumlog sirf pakistan ko jeetne ke liye kohli ko hatana chahate https://t.co/ykR7Di5KKJ cup me koi main player chala big team ke against.sirf chote team

— Karan (@Karan80960747) June 24, 2023

Sunny G is spot on these days 🙂

— Pichaa Paati (@Pichaa_paati) June 24, 2023

https://twitter.com/BhangaleUjjwal/status/1672447662346616838?s=20

I somewhat agree !

— Mr.Yadav (@MigTrader) June 24, 2023

https://twitter.com/spsinghweb/status/1672459970997112833?s=20

Your top scorer is counted among fab 4. Check records of other 3 in last 3.5 years and of kohli for same period. He is worst. He's just best among indian average players. Not a world class player anymore having career test average of just 48 which is less than sehwags average 🤡

— Piyush Goyal (@Pluviophilhindu) June 24, 2023

He is 38 years old. Want him to potentially play the final at 40?

— Balderdash! (@lunaticfiend) June 24, 2023