‘He is left out in the cold’ – WV Raman on Cheteshwar Pujara’s exclusion from India’s Test squad for Windies tour

Cheteshwar Pujara. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Former India cricketer WV Raman has questioned Cheteshwar Pujara’s omission from India’s Test squad for the forthcoming West Indies tour. Pujara was left out of the squad following a lacklustre performance in the 2023 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia earlier this month.

Rohit Sharma and Co. will play two Test matches, three ODIs, and five T20Is against the West Indies during their visit. The two-match Test series will be India’s first assignment in the new WTC 2023-25 cycle. The first Test is scheduled to be played in Dominica from July 12.

Raman opened up on Pujara’s exclusion in a video posted on Aakash Chopra’s YouTube channel. The issue, according to the 58-year-old, is that the selectors have chosen four probable openers and have omitted Pujara, which is another point of contention. He added that Pujara has done a lot for Indian cricket and has helped the team win both at home and abroad

“The problem is that they have picked four possible openers, and they have dropped Pujara, which is another bone of contention. A cricketer like Pujara has done a lot for Indian cricket, and he has been instrumental for India winning both at home and abroad on quite a few occasions,” Raman said.

Pujara is a gritty customer: Raman

The former opener added that Pujara was recently elevated to vice-captaincy, but his failure in the WTC final has left him out in the cold. He went on to say that he believes this is one decision that has not gone down well with many people, and he is not in favour of it either.

“He is a gritty customer. He was even elevated to vice-captaincy quite recently but a failure in the WTC final, he finds that he is left out in the cold. I think this is one decision that has not gone down well with many people, and I, personally, as well, I am not for it,” he added.

In the first Test against Bangladesh in December 2022, Pujara scored 90 and an unbeaten 102. However, in his next ten innings, the 35-year-old only managed one half-century.