Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill must replace Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara: Chandu Borde

Pujara, 33, scored his last hundred (193 against Australia at Sydney) in January 2019, while Rahane, 33, registered his last century (112 v Australia at Melbourne) in December 2020

Former India captain and ex-national chief selector Chandu Borde believes the Chetan Sharma-headed selection committee must look at replacing out-of-form middle-order batsmen Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane with Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer in Tests.

Iyer, a balanced cricketer

Pujara, 33, scored his last hundred (193 against Australia at Sydney) in January 2019, while Rahane, 33, registered his last century (112 v Australia at Melbourne) in December 2020. “Both Pujara and Rahane have not performed well in quite a few series. They [selection committee] must think about other options for these struggling batsmen. Shreyas is a batsman with the potential to play for a long time. He is a balanced cricketer as far as his technique and mindset are concerned. Gill also has good technique and temperament. He has also contributed earlier and has that ability to play a good knock. 

We always say that we have a strong second-string team, but hardly give chances to these players. We must encourage them. They are ready to grab these spots,” Borde, 87, told mid-day from Pune recently. Iyer, 27, scored 105 and 65 in his debut Test against New Zealand at Kanpur last November, but had to warm the bench in South Africa. Gill, 22, who is recovering from a shin injury, has scored 558 from 10 Tests.

Duo’s poor form

Pujara and Rahane managed just 124 and 136 across the three Tests in South Africa, and Borde, who scored 3,061 Test runs from 55 matches, blamed India’s middle-order, including skipper Virat Kohli, for the 1-2 Test series defeat against the Proteas. “The Indian batsmen had an over-defensive approach. They need to play their natural game. Rishabh Pant [who scored a 139-ball 100 not out in the second innings at Cape Town] played a controlled innings initially, but later on played his natural game. Kohli played for more than 190 minutes [in the second innings at Cape Town Test] and how many runs did he score? Just 29. That built pressure on the other batsmen and hampered their confidence,” added Borde. India’s next Test assignment is a two-match home series against Sri Lanka, beginning in Bangalore on February 25.

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