Cheteshwar Pujara | Sourav Ganguly | Indian National Cricket Team |
Cheteshwar Pujara. Credit: Getty Images

Former Indian National Cricket team skipper Sourav Ganguly has picked Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara as the second drop batsman for the ODI team ahead of the ICC World Cup. However, with a little over two months left for the pinnacle show, the statement looks a bit out of place. Meanwhile, Pujara has last played an ODI game in 2014 against Bangladesh.

Middle-order looks unsettled

The Indian National Cricket team is still pondering over who should bat at no four with just two months to go to the ICC World Cup in the United Kingdom. The likes of Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, have got a long run but has failed to show enough consistency to cement the berth. Meanwhile, there are speculations that skipper Virat Kohli can come down to four in a bid to provide stability to the middle-order. The recent ODI snub against Australia once again showed that the batting-order has not settled yet.

Sourav Ganguly, Delhi Capitals
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Following that loss, Sourav Ganguly backed Cheteshwar Pujara in the ODI squad. A regular feature in the Test team, Pujara hasn’t international ODI game in the last five years. However, he has done a decent job in the List A cricket but the call to include him has been a surprising one. Ganguly drew comparisons with Rahul Dravid saying that Pujara can don the role what Dravid did for India.

Ganguly, who recently joined Delhi Capitals believes Cheteshwar Pujara can be a very good batsman despite admitting that fielding is a bit weak. The former southpaw feels Pujara is currently the best choice for the role.

“Cheteshwar Pujara should be India’s no.4 in ODIs. His fielding might be a bit weak. But he is a very good batsman. I know people will be shocked by my claim but if you want a quality batsman,  who is better than the options India has tried off late, I think Pujara is the best choice,” Ganguly said.

Image result for pujara

“I believe Pujara has the capability to perform the role that Rahul Dravid used to do for India in ODIs. But this would have been my personal decision and I know a lot of people won’t agree with me on this. Sometimes you need solidity in one day cricket and Pujara provides you with that in ample measure. Especially, when your top 3 batsmen are so capable and are scoring a mountain of runs”, Sourav Ganguly added.

However, the claims took the social media aback and they expressed their feelings on social media. They expressed their disagreement on Twitter and even trolled the former cricketer.

Twitter Reactions:

https://twitter.com/CRICKETDUDE_/status/1106451608139751424

https://twitter.com/NautiyalG___/status/1106258719224922112

 

Ankush Das

I am an accountant by qualification, my parents thought their obedient son would study further to become a CA, but I had other things in mind. An ardent Cricket fan is following his passion and making...