ENG vs IND 2018: Cheteshwar Pujara Too Good a Player to be Dropped – Holding
Sep 18, 2018 at 1:11 PM
Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding said that Cheteshwar Pujara is too good a player to be dropped. Indian think tank and Virat Kohli had surprisingly shown the exit doors to Cheteshwar Pujara from the opening Test match of the England vs India 2018 Test series.
Pujara didn’t have the best of County Championship as the right-hander scored 172 runs while playing for Yorkshire. Thus, the Saurashtra batsman had to pay the price for his poor run of form. Furthermore, Pujara also failed to impress on the South African tour. However, Pujara is at sixth rank in the ICC Test Rankings.
Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t have the best of County Season.
“One thing I would like to see India do is to find a way to get Pujara into this team,” Holding told Sky Sports. “I do not understand how they are so reluctant to play Pujara. He’s too good a player.”
The Whispering Death questioned the authenticity of India’s team management. Holding said that will team India drop Virat Kohli if he is not in good form. However, the former fiery fast bowler cleared that he is not trying to liken Kohli with Pujara svasti kumble
“If Kohli had no form, would they leave him out? I’m not saying Pujara is as good as Kohli because Kohli is way above everyone else. But when you have (for example) a Rahul Dravid, a VVS Laxman or a Sourav Ganguly who is not in excellent form, do you leave them out? No,” said Holding.
Holding suggested the Indian think tank to drop Hardik Pandya in the upcoming Test of England vs India 2018 series. The former West Indian great said that the visitors don’t need Pandya as a bowler. Thus, Holding wants Pujara to replace Hardik Pandya in the final XI.
“Pandya, it seems as if he’s the golden boy in this team. Everyone thinks he’s going to be the next Kapil Dev. He hasn’t shown that yet. “Why not pick a batsman (instead)? Pandya got a few runs in the second innings but is he a better batsman than Pujara? I don’t think so, and you don’t need him as a bowler in my eyes,” added Holding.
In hindsight, the selection of a losing team can always be questioned. However, it should be noted that the Indian think tank hasn’t been consistent with their final XI. They had also dropped Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ajinkya Rahane on the South African tour.