At the Sanosara Cricket Ground, around half an hour from the Niranjan Shah Stadium — where Rohit Sharma and his colleagues clashed with England in the third Test — a former teammate of theirs was quietly doing his job for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy game against Manipur.
Having hit a 105-ball 108 in the game, which Saurashtra won by an innings and 243 runs, Cheteshwar Pujara had brought up his third century in the ongoing Ranji season. Not just that, he took his aggregate to 781 in only 11 innings, being the third-highest run-getter as of now in the tournament’s current edition.
The BCCI’s directive to all contracted and targeted players on playing Ranji further underlines the value being put on the country’s premier domestic competition. But for Pujara, in spite of his rich numbers, the India door appears to be firmly shut.
“Cheteshwar’s job is to score runs, and he had been doing exactly so as that’s his only focus. So, he will keep on doing what he does best,” Pujara’s father Arvind stated.
But why is the India team management as well as the national selectors rigid with their stance over Pujara? “Of course, Pujara has been scoring lots of runs lately. But what guarantee is there that he will not announce his retirement in a year or two?” a BCCI insider told The Telegraph on Monday.
“He’s already 36. And these senior players tend to make decisions all of a sudden. In that case, it could lead to problems both for the team as
well as the selectors if Pujara suddenly decides to retire after a year following his re-inclusion.”
In order to avoid such a scenario, the preference is for young cricketers and not
for those senior players attempting a comeback. Besides, the team management and the selectors are keen on trying the youngsters out in home Tests first.
“Throwing these guys straightaway in a Test match in Australian conditions or in England or South Africa could be risky, because their confidence level may take a beating if they fail to perform there. It’s better to try them out at home and if they get runs here, they will gain some confidence ahead of an overseas tour,” the Board source said.
