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Cricket

'Good move' - Twitter reacts as Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane dropped for Test series against SL

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been having a torrid time of late, and have struggled to consistently score runs

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Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane (Photo: Twitter)

In what comes as big news, India have announced their squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. It is to be noted that this will be their first Test series since losing to South Africa earlier in December-January.

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As Virat Kohli has stepped down as Test captain, Rohit Sharma is named as his successor, and will lead India in the red-ball series against the Island nation at home. However, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, two of India's veteran batters, have been dropped from the squad. India's chief selector Chetan Sharma said that both batters had been spoken to about the decision.

Both have now been told to score runs in the Ranji Trophy. The two of them have been having a torrid time of late, and have struggled to consistently score runs. While Pujara hasn't scored a hundred in three years, Rahane last scored a century in 2020, against Australia at the MCG. As a matter of fact, both were absolutely poor in the three-match Test series against the Proteas as well.

The Saurashtra batter was able to score just 124 runs at an average of 20.67 in just six innings. On the other hand, the Mumbai batter scored 136 runs in the three Tests. Besides, players like Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari have been in superb form of late.

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Vihari looked really solid during the second Test, and has been scoring runs for fun for the A side as well. As for Iyer, he scored a hundred on debut against New Zealand in Kanpur. However, it is yet to be seen if they do get a consistent run in the XI.

Thus, it will be exciting to see if Pujara and Rahane's replacements go on to seal a spot. In the meanwhile, several Twitter users reacted to the news, and felt that the BCCI took the right decision by dropping them. It will be exciting to see if the duo manages to make a comeback in the near future.

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Cricket News India Ajinkya Rahane Cheteshwar Pujara