During the just-concluded second Test between India and Bangladesh in Dhaka, the visitors were tasked to chase 145 in the fourth innings and they got over the line with only three wickets in hand.

After losing KL Rahul (2) and Cheteshwar Pujara (6) cheaply during the chase in the last session on Day 3, India sent Akshar Patel as a night watchman even though more than 15 overs were remaining in the day.

While Akshar went on to score 34 runs batting at No. 4, the move has drawn criticism from former Indian cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar and Ajay Jadeja.

Speaking to Sony Sports at the end of Day 3, Gavaskar said the decision had sent a bad message to Virat Kohli, who is regarded as one of the modern batting greats.

"It didn't send a good message to Kohli. He is the best batsman in the world. Unless Kohli himself asked for it, then it's a different matter. We don't know what happened in the changing room. But it's hard to understand. Akshar has played well, of course," he said.

Jadeja, who was part of the Hindi panel, opined: "He is the world's best player. 15 overs were left. Saba Karim said it could have been because of the left-right combination, which is an obvious thought, but then I feel - did Rishabh Pant take a sleeping pill? I will also say that it is easy for us to say this from here; we don't know if someone was not feeling well."

On Sunday (December 25), after India won a thriller to clinch the series 2-0, Pujara defended the Indian team management’s call to send Akshar before Kohli in the batting line-up.

"It was a very good move because among their three strike bowlers, two were left-arm spinners. Akshar is a left-hander, so he was sent to tackle them and to have a batter who can bat sensibly in the initial period against the Kookaburra ball. It was a crucial move for us," Pujara said on Sony Sports.

"That was an important phase of the game where we didn't want to lose too many wickets in the evening, and he could have batted cautiously. So I was not surprised. When you are chasing a 145-run total, every run is important, and the way he batted, his innings was very valuable for us," he added.

During the chase, the visitors were reeling at 74/5. Amid the pressure situation, R Ashwin produced an unbeaten knock of 42 and added an unbeaten 71-run stand with Shreyas Iyer (29*) to take India over the finishing line with three wickets in hand.

(Hindustan Times inputs)