Cheteshwar Pujara to be part of IND vs AUS series finally, albeit in new role

Just a couple of days are left, before the IND vs AUS Test series kicks off in Perth on November 22. This time around, there will be a lot of fresh faces which will headline India’s case — like Harshit Rana, Yashasvi Jaiswal and even Dhruv Jurel. In batting, at the top will seasoned pro Virat Kohli, along with old horse Rohit Sharma.

IND vs AUS, 1st Test

But if there is one player that the Indian team is going to miss dearly is Cheteshwar Pujara. In India’s second consecutive Test series win Down Under in 2020-21, the Saurashtra batsman had played a key role. In four matches, he scored 279 runs including three fifties, and a best of 77. But what was even more important is the number of deliveries he played, how he frustrated the Aussie bowlers.

For the record, he ended up playing 928 balls, and scored runs at a strike rate of 29. What is even more memorable is the way he came into the line of ball, and was being repeatedly hit by Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood. But then, despite that, Cheteshwar Pujara has been overlooked for the IND vs AUS series.

Having said that, Pujara is on his way to make a comeback of sorts for the BGT. This time around, he will be seen in the Hindi commentary panel of Star Sports. It must be noted that the veteran Indian batsman not only played a pivotal role in the last series, but also in the 2018-19 series, where he ended up scoring 521 runs at an average of 74.42.

IND Squad for AUS Tour

India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (Wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Rishabh Pant (Wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar.