End of road for Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in test cricket for India

Pujara last played for India against Australia in March, while Ajinkya Rahane last played in West Indies.

BCCI announced the India squads for the upcoming tour of South Africa. India will play 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs, and 2 Tests in December-January on the tour.

The Test squad sees a few changes and despite being granted the T20 captaincy, Rohit Sharma’s plea to the BCCI for a vacation from white-ball cricket in South Africa has been accepted, and Jasprit Bumrah has been designated his deputy for the two Tests beginning December 26.

Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul will captain the national squad in T20Is and ODIs, respectively, following Virat Kohli’s request for a vacation from limited-overs games. Suryakumar Yadav is currently captaining India in the ongoing five-match Twenty20 International series against Australia.

There have been multiple shocking changes in the Test squads with a few veterans being overlooked and seemingly seen as the final nail in the coffin for those cricketers.

“Two slots that Rahane and Pujara had now belong to….” The future of their Test careers is in danger

Veteran talents Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been left out of the Indian cricket team’s two tests in South Africa. Even though Mohammed Shami’s availability is in doubt due to ‘medical treatment,’ star pacer Umesh Yadav has not been included in the team.

Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been long-serving Test players for India. Ajinkya Rahane has 5077 runs at an average of 38.46 in 85 matches in the longest format. He last played a Test match in the West Indies in July. Cheteshwar Pujara has appeared in 103 Tests, scoring 7195 runs at an average of 43.60. He last played a Test against Australia in June.

According to news agency PTI, Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 89 in the World Test Championship final, has probably played his last Test along with Cheteshwar Pujara.

“The two slots that Rahane and Pujara had now belong to KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer. Also, Gill will bat in the middle order and Yashashvi will get a long rope,” PTI quoted a source as saying.

Rahane, a seasoned player, has performed admirably for India every time he has been allowed to lead the team. Rahane’s team leadership in the 2019-20 Border-Gavaskar Trophy won him a lot of praise. However, after that season, it was all downhill for the right-handed batter.

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