Young Maharastra and Chennai Super Kings batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad is likely to get his maiden India Test team call-up for the upcoming 2-Test home series against Sri Lanka, as reported by Sports Tak.
The report further added that the axe is finally going to fall on both Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, the two senior batsmen who have been out of rhythm for a long time.
Gaikwad, who was the Orange Cap winner in IPL 2021, averages 38 in 21 first-class matches, having stroked four centuries and has been in prime form in the past year.
Pujara and Rahane, on the other hand, have been going through their worst career rut such that it prompted BCCI president Sourav Ganguly to suggest they go and play Ranji Trophy and score runs in bulk to gain form and confidence.
Both the senior batters are under severe scrutiny for their inconsistent performances for over 2 years. Since the start of 2020, Pujara averages 26 in 20 Tests with no three-figure score, while Rahane averages 24 in 19 Tests with one century to his name.
In the recently-lost Test series in South Africa, both the batters managed one fifty each in 6 innings. Rahane is already facing stiff competition from Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer. Vihari would have considered himself unlucky to have played just a single Test since his epic rearguard in Sydney while Shreyas Iyer made a record-breaking Test debut against New Zealand in Kanpur where he struck a century and a fifty on debut.
Sourav Ganguly recently admitted that there is no problem for international players to go back to domestic cricket when in need of runs, having himself traversed this route when he was dropped from the Indian team and successfully made a comeback.
“Ranji Trophy is a huge tournament, and we have all played the tournament. So, they, too, will go back there and perform. They have played the tournament in the past when they were only playing Test cricket and were not part of the ODI or limited-overs team. So, that won’t be a problem,” Ganguly added.
The Ranji Trophy 2022 is set to kickstart on February 10. With the Sri Lanka series scheduled for a couple of weeks after that, this has come as a much-needed opportunity for Cheteshwar Pujara and Rahane to get back in form.
