Gautam Gambhir has named India’s 27-year-old batter as the ideal candidate to replace Cheteshwar Pujara in the Playing XI. Cheteshwar Pujara’s long rope with the Indian team has finally ended.
The veteran batter, along with senior player Ajinkya Rahane, was dropped from India’s Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka starting from March 4. In their place, the likes of Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, and Priyank Panchal have been preferred, signalling the dawn of a new era and a transformation period in Indian cricket.
Gautam Gambhir Reckons Shreyas Iyer Could Be The Ideal Candidate To Replace Cheteshwar Pujara In The Playing XI
With veteran senior batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane no longer in the fray to be part of India’s Test Playing XI, it will be interesting to see their replacements at No. 3 and 5 for India. Weighing in on the same, former India batter Gautam Gambhir feels that 27-year-old Shreyas Iyer could be the ideal candidate to replace Cheteshwar Pujara in the Playing XI.
“He has been brilliant so far. He showed it during his innings against New Zealand. Not everyone can score a century in their first Test innings. He has got all the shots and has the temperament of a middle-order batter. He can build an innings well and play anchor.
“He can be the perfect No. 3 batter for India. I don’t see why he can’t replace Pujara in India’s Playing XI,” Gautam Gambhir had said during the Byju’s Cricket Live show during the India vs South Africa series.
Scoring at an average of just above 20, Ajinkya Rahane managed to fetch just 136 runs from the three Tests in South Africa. Cheteshwar Pujara also scored just one fifty in the South Africa tour which India lost by 1-2 despite winning the very first Test match. The Saurashtra batter scored only 124 in the rubber. The duo struggled for their form in the last year or so.
Shreyas Iyer Had Scored 105 And 5 In His Debut Test At Kanpur Against New Zealand
Shreyas Iyer had a remarkable start to his Test career as he became the 16th player to score a century in his first Test match for India. He joined a list comprising Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, and Prithvi Shaw.
Batting in place of Virat Kohli, who was rested for the first Test in Kanpur, Shreyas Iyer scored 105 off 171 balls from No. 5, his knock consisting of 13 fours and two sixes. To increase his stocks even further, Shreyas Iyer scored 65 in the second innings too after his century in the first innings even as the match ended in a draw.
India persisted with Shreyas Iyer in the second Test at Kanpur, where he scored 18 and 14, but the knocks in Kanpur convinced everyone that Iyer belongs in the big league. Since the New Zealand Tests, Shreyas Iyer has played five matches for India – four ODIs against South Africa, and a T20I and an ODI each against West Indies.
In the 3rd ODI against West Indies in Ahmedabad, Shreyas Iyer scored a scintillating 80 to bail his team out of trouble after India had been reduced to 43/3. The star batter showed signs of intent from the word go and hit 25 from 16 balls before getting out in the 3rd T20I.
The newly-appointed Kolkata Knight Riders captain has established his credentials in the ODI format and with his hundred on debut in Tests, he is certainly going to get more opportunities in whites, especially with the axing of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson makes a return to the T20I side for the first time since July 2021. Sanju Samson, who made his debut as early as 2015, has played only 10 matches, already having made a couple of comebacks. Sanju Samson last featured in the Indian team in July 2021 when they lost the T20I series in Sri Lanka, and his contributions were 27, 7, and 0.