Former Indian Spinner Harbhajan Singh feels that Cheteshwar Pujara deserves respect for his contribution to the Indian team and wants the Indian selectors to treat every player equally in terms of the team selection on making tough decisions in picking up the squad for the future series.
The Indian veteran was dropped from the Indian squad for the West Indies tour following his poor performance against Australia in the World Test Championship final, where he scored only 41 runs in the two innings for the Indian team getting out bizarrely in both innings, failing to make an impact for the side in the much awaited final.
Speaking on his Youtube channel, Harbhajan Singh believes Pujara was rested for the series against Men in Maroon, as he did not deserve to be dropped suddenly after playing 100 games for the country in the longer format of the game and wants the Indian selectors to provide him a proper road map for the forthcoming series.
“I hope it is a rest given to him rather than getting him dropped. A player who has played 100 Test matches should get the respect he deserves. I hope the selectors have talked to him and discussed the further roadmap with him,” Harbhajan Singh said
Yashasvi Jaiswal is slated to play the role of the experienced Cheteshwar Pujara in the West Indies series he did reasonably well in the 2022 Ranji Trophy as he amassed 315 runs for Mumbai at an average of 45.00 including scores of 213 and 144 in the Irani Cup against Madhya Pradesh.
Cheteshwar Pujara Is The Backbone Of This Team – Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh said that Cheteshwar Pujara has been the backbone of this team over the last few years, where he play some vital for the Indian team in both home and overseas conditions, and reckons that the selection policy should apply to every player on the same basis and added that Pujara is a big player from India to represent the country at the highest level.
“Cheteshwar Pujara is the backbone of this team, and if you are dropping him then the figures of other batters in the last two years aren’t that strong enough. These tough calls should be the same for everyone, no matter how big a player he is. If you don’t consider Cheteshwar Pujara a big player then for me, other players are not that great,” Harbhajan Singh added.
It was reported that the doors are still open for Cheteshwar Pujara in the Indian team if does well in domestic cricket and the experienced Indian batter is expected to play in the forthcoming Duleep Trophy in India.