While Pujari and Rahane have been the mainstays of the Indian team in the country’s last two series victories over Australia, the fans will once again be keen to see them feature on the national side when the country hosts Australia in the upcoming five-match series.
After the Indian batters failed to chase the target of 147 runs in the fourth innings, losing the third Test against New Zealand by 26 runs in Mumbai on Sunday, November 3, fans fumed on social media platforms, panning the Indian players. Senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli faced the full fury of the fans, who also targeted Sarfaraz Khan, KL Rahul, and Shubman Gill.
Now, the fans are left shocked after the poor show of the Indian batter throughout the series, calling for the selection of Test specialists Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane into the Test team for the upcoming series against Australia.
Team India will play Australia in the five-match Test starting November 22 in Perth. India has won the last two editions of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, in which Pujara and Rahane played a significant role.
India, under his captaincy, won the 2020-21 series 2-1, as Virat Kohli had to leave after the first Test. Pujara also played a vital role when he was the leading scorer during the 2018-19 series.
The 36-year-old right-handed batter was also featured in all four games in the 2020-21 series and scored a brilliant half-century on the fourth Test at the Gabba.
The duo lost their places in the Indian Test team last year following a series of poor performances, and as replacements, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul/Sarfaraz Khan were given a chance to bat at No. 3 and 5, respectively.
