Should Ishant, Pujara and Rahane make way for the youngsters?

The veteran fast bowler Ishant Sharma is the only player with over 100 matches under his belt in the Indian Test squad which has been announced for the tour of South Africa for a three-match series starting from 26^th December. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are among two of the most proficient batters in this team along with Virat Kohli who too like them is yet to feature in the coveted 100 test match club for India. And yet, if there was a huge question mark over the selection of some of the senior players, it was the experienced trio of Sharma, Pujara and Rahane. Of course, Pujara was marginally better than Rahane in this aspect but the conundrum regarding the continued selection of the red-ball specialist players is going to give headache to the team management and selectors like.

In his last 10 innings, Ishant has failed to take a wicket on six occasions and hasn’t reached the double figure as far as his victims are concerned. “Don’t judge Ishant by his Kanpur Test performance alone. Remember, he missed the IPL due to injury and also didn’t play in any first-class match before this series and we all know that there has been this bio-bubble life for close to two years. It has never been easy for a fast bowler to make a comeback straightway and more so in such times,” says former India pacer VRV Singh who was the coach of the Chandigarh Ranji team in 2020.

No one has toured South Africa more for Test cricket (3 trips) than Ishant from the current bunch and yet his record in the Rainbow nation is not spectacular. In 13 innings since 2006 on South African soil, the Delhi pacer has managed just 20 wickets and that without a single five-wicket haul. His current form and injury issues don’t offer a very bright picture as the lanky fast bowler played a solitary game against England on the last overseas tour. “I personally feel that on foreign soil, especially in South Africa and England, Ishant is still very useful and very effective bowler. He has got the height, bounce and experience and you can’t overlook that. There was no question mark over his selection in the squad. Remember how ferociously he bowled in that Lord’s Test when England were bowled out inside 64 overs,” argues VRV who toured South Africa with the Indian team in 2006 when Rahul Dravid was the captain of the side. However, many observers are not as considerate as VRV. “I don’t understand how Ishant Sharma got another game of Test cricket after what he did in England, so for me I’d bring [Mohammed] Siraj in for him. The three spinners bowled well enough, so they’ll be the only changes I make," former England pacer Steve Harmison told talkSPORT after the Kanpur Test.

Unlike Ishant, the middle order batsman Ajinkya Rahane’s selection is more intriguing. Doubtless, if Rahane survived the axe it must have been because of the backing from the coach Dravid. Of late, Rahane’s game has disintegrated so much that it’s difficult to believe that after his debut overseas series in South Africa in 2013, where he missed a ton by a whisker but went on to play 17 consecutive Test matches abroad with memorable hundreds in Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka. “To be honest, I wasn’t sure if Rahane would indeed make it to the squad and I have no issues with that. However, I don’t think he can break into the playing XI if Kohli chooses to go into the match with the current combination, which is, five bowlers, five batters, and a wicket-keeper,” says former India opener Aakash Chopra.  Last time in 2018, Kohli had benched Rahane in the first two matches of the series which India lost and when he came into the playing his masterclass 48 on a treacherous Johannesburg pitch was one of the finest Test innings by an Indian batter abroad. “At No. 5, I have picked Shreyas Iyer as you can’t drop him after his sensational debut. If he is at five, that means Ajinkya Rahane is not in my XI. We want to maintain the continuity and want to go with a player who has scored runs,” argues Chopra. However, Rahane and his fans can always point out to his staggering record in South Africa where he has scored 266 runs in just 3 matches at an average of 53.20. An Indian averaging over 50 in South Africa is a rarity and that perhaps explains the inclusion of Rahane one more time on sheer reputation. However, if fails again then there is little doubt that the 79 Test veteran’s international career will be over as he is no longer in the scheme of things in white ball cricket.  Someone who started with the year 2021 with a historic win in Brisbane as captain and came agonisingly close to a win in Kanpur is now not even the vice-captain of the team tells a tale about the 33-year-old Rahane.

Perhaps, Pujara among this experienced trio was under lesser scrutiny but his place in the playing XI is far from certain now. “I think Pujara will retain his place in the playing XI because he has scored runs while batting at no. 3. Not too many runs but he has been scoring runs. If you look at the last few matches, Pujara scored runs in the second innings at Lord’s and Leeds and he has even started scoring runs, in fact, he scored runs in the second innings at Wankhede,” explains Chopra. Since there is no Ravindra Jadeja as an all-rounder in the team and no Hardik Pandya either, the team management might even contemplate of picking Hanuma Vihari (who is currently in South Africa playing for the India A) who can also bowl some overs if needed.

Pujara’s lack of hundred (last 42 innings has no three-figure score) for a player of his caliber who bats at no. 3 is a cause of concern ahead of a very important Test series since India has never won in South Africa. ‘I’d leave both out as they’ve both been as bad as each other because you’re definitely going to bring Kohli back into the side. The question is then who do you bat at No.3? I think it’ll be harsh just to leave either of them out, I think it’s time for India to make a change of both of them,” Harmison had argued just ahead of the Mumbai Test against New Zealand.  Pujara’s Test average in 2020 was around 20 and it is now 30 for this year but that is unlikely to save his position in the batting order if he continues to disappoint by not scoring heavily in the series. Since January 2019, Pujara hasn’t score a Test ton there is no better time than the upcoming  South Africa to end this drought which looks longer than three years.