Cheteshwar Pujara got dropped from the Test squad of Team India for the upcoming two-match series in West Indies, startingt from 12 July 2023. After the World Test Championship (WTC) final loss against the Aussies, fans raised their concern over the batter and were expecting him to get dropped.
So, it was not so surprising for some of them as selectors axed him from the squad. Now, he will be seen in action in the upcoming Duleep Trophy, playing for West Zone. On 24 June, Pujara shared a video of him having a batting practice session and seeing that, fans shared their views on social media.
Here is the shared video:
🏏 ❤️ pic.twitter.com/TubsOu3Fah
— Cheteshwar Pujara (@cheteshwar1) June 24, 2023
Cheteshwar Pujara has scored only one century in 52 innings since 2020
However, the former Team India cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar was not happy with the only exclusion of Pujara from the Test squad. He called him the ‘Scapegoat’ as he believes that despite not having performances, some batters did not get dropped apart from him.
In an interview with Sports Today, he said: "Why has he been dropped? Why has he been made the scapegoat for our batting failures. He has been a loyal servant of Indian cricket. A loyal and quiet servant. A loyal and quiet achiever. But because he does not have millions of followers on platforms who will make a noise in case he gets dropped, you drop him. That is something beyond understanding. What is the criteria of dropping him and keeping the others who failed? I do not know because nowadays, there is no media interaction with the selection committee chairman."
"He has been playing country cricket. So, he has played a lot of red-call cricket and he knows what it is about. Today, people can play till they are 39-40 years old and as long as you are producing runs, I do not think age should be a factor. Apart from (Ajinkya) Rahane, the batting completely failed. Why Pujara has been made the fall guy is something the selectors will have to explain," he added.
Here is how fans have reacted:
We'll comeback stronger💪
— Saad Mohammed (@saadmd_13) June 24, 2023
Pujara realising he has to do his own PR
— omkar (@_Satyanweshi_) June 24, 2023
Just keep working hard and you will get another chance. We'll always be behind you. Go Pujara.
— Vishnu 💯+🏆🏆🏆 (@Rfighterer) June 24, 2023
Looks so awkward
— Cric Bug (@Smithian_here) June 24, 2023
Insta followers barhao sirf batting karny Sy comeback ni hona
— Y ∆ (@Lofted_driv) June 24, 2023
Puji Bhai ko gussa AA gya 😁😁
— Sultan Khan (@MainHoonSultan7) June 24, 2023
Best of luck for comeback🤞
— Shubman Gang (@ShubmanGang) June 24, 2023
Keep going champ
— Jay Ramasamy (@jayaprasad_r) June 24, 2023
Injustice with you, you will bounce back 👊
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) June 24, 2023