Pujara conceded that Washington Sundar’s opening spell started on an underwhelming note, but his ability to bat puts him ahead of Ashwin or Jadeja
Our Bureau
Perth/Mumbai
Indian cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara sees straightaway inclusion of Shubman Gill and skipper Rohit Sharma in India’s playing XI but feels the opening combination of KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal should remain untouched in the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against Australia.
After conquering Perth in the series opener with a record-changing 295-run victory, India will face Australia in Adelaide in a pink-ball affair next week.
The victory turned out to be more memorable, with India pulling off a dominant performance even in the absence of mainstays.
Rohit missed out on the first Test due to personal reasons, while Gull sustained an injury on his thumb, which has left his inclusion subject to fitness.
As the second Test approaches, discussions have been going around the possible line-up that India should opt for to continue with their high-flying momentum.
Rahul and Jaiswal took the Australian bowling unit apart under gruelling conditions with a record-changing 201-run opening partnership in the second innings. Rohit coming in for the second Test, could see the duo being disbanded for the rest of the series.
Pujara pondered on what India’s top order could look like with the possibility of Gill and Rohit slotting into the playing XI.
For him, Rahul and Jaiswal should continue with their opening stand; however, if Rohit continues to hold his opening slot, Pujara wants to see Rahul bat at number three.
“I think, for some reason, if we can carry on with the same batting order like KL and Yashasvi to open, Rohit could come in at three, and Shubman could come in at five. If Rohit wants to open, KL should bat at No. 3. Nothing later than that. I think he has to bat top of the order because it suits his game really well. I hope we don’t tinker around with that,” Pujara said in a chat with ESPNcricinfo.
If one goes by Pujara’s suggestion and sees India’s top order with Rohit-Jaiswal playing the opener’s role and Rahul coming in at number three. Under such a scenario, Virat Kohli would continue to hold his number four spot, which leaves Gill’s place in question, if he becomes available.
Pujara doesn’t want to see a change in India’s bowling attack for the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia next week. The India pace trio featuring Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Harshit Rana ran rampant on Perth’s Test strip.
Throughout the Test, two of the three quicks bowled in tandem and wreaked havoc as India conquered Perth with a record-shattering 295-run victory. Bumrah was the architect, while Siraj and Rana executed the devised plan flawlessly to script a famous win for India in one of the biggest Test rivalries.
With Adelaide offering a different sort of challenge, a change in the look of India’s bowling could be on the table, which could ideally turn out to be the winning formula.
After picking up a three-wicket haul in the first innings, Rana’s struggle in his second turn was quite evident. He struggled to create an opening once the ball turned older.
Rana’s sole scalp in the second innings was of Alex Carey, which fell in his kitty after he managed to pierce through the southpaw’s technique.
But Pujara doesn’t want Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Prasidh Krishna, or even Akash Deep in place of Rana.
“In Australia, it’s very easy to get carried away, and sometimes when you look at the pace of the pitch, it offers a bit more extra bounce… But he was still looking to hit the right spot, good length, try and hit the top of off, and he has that ability,” Pujara said, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“So I think we should carry on with the same bowling attack. And Nitish also had a bit of a bowl. I felt that those four seamers are proper options, and along with that, Washington Sundar,” he added.
Another talking point of the series opener was Washington Sundar’s spell in the first innings. Pujara conceded that Sundar’s opening spell started on an underwhelming note, but his ability to bat puts him ahead of Ashwin or Jadeja.
“He [Washington] didn’t look really good when he started his bowling, but eventually he got a couple of wickets, he varied his pace, so Washy should be our spinner. Because he can bat well. The reason he was chosen in this squad is because he can bat. It will be important in the second Test match that, in case we lose a few wickets early if the lower-middle order needs to contribute, Washington can do that role,” Pujara added.
