Virat Kohli has withdrawn from first two Tests against England due to personal reasons.
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra believes that Cheteshwar Pujara is a suitable replacement for Virat Kohli for the first two Tests of the upcoming five-match Test series against England.
Team India is gearing up for a five-match Test series against England, starting on January 25 in Hyderabad. Ahead of the series opener, Kohli withdrew from the first two Tests against England, citing personal reasons. BCCI confirmed Kohli’s call on January 22.
However, the BCCI has yet to announce Kohli’s replacement, but Chopra backed Pujara to get the chance in the upcoming Tests against England, given his form and established track record in Test cricket.
Read Also: IND v ENG 2024: "I am of that generation where Test cricket is king"- Jasprit Bumrah
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel: “Cheteshwar Pujara - only four Indians have scored more than 20000 first-class runs. He scored a double century recently. Form is with him and he has a proven Test record. He works hard by playing county cricket as well. He is your sincere cricketer. In fact, I say he is Indian cricket's monk.”
Recently, Pujara became just the fourth Indian batter after Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dra,vid and Sunil Gavaskar to score over 20,000 runs in first-class cricket. Pujara has also 7195 runs in 103 Test matches to his name and Chopra said it makes him a legit option to replace Kohli in the squad.
He signed off by saying, “So, you can pick him. However, I feel India are not looking in that direction. They have already started looking in a different direction. Pujara is a legit option but are the Indian selectors looking at him as an option at all? That's the question we need to ask and wonder.”