India batting coach Vikram Rathour has defended the lean patch of form for veteran batters Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara after both failed to score significant runs in the ongoing 1st Test against New Zealand in Kanpur.
Both Rahane and Pujara are under severe pressure as runs have dried from their bats. Rahane has made just over 683 runs in 29 innings in Tests since 2020 at an average of 24.4 and only one century and two fifties to his name. He made 35 and 4 in two innings of the Test in which is he captaining India.
On the other hand, Pujara, who made 26 and 22, has done no better having last made a Test century in 2019 against Australia in Sydney. His slow batting and poor strike rate have also come under scanner despite him playing some gritty knocks in Australia on the 2020-21 tour.
Rathour, during a presser conference, couldn’t definitively answer as to who will sit out in the second Test in Mumbai when Virat Kohli returns to the playing XI. As it will be criminal to drop Shreyas Iyer who made 105 and 65 in his debut Test match in Kanpur.
“Of course, you want the top-order to contribute but cricketers (Pujara and Rahane) you mentioned they have played 80 (79 for Rahane) and 90 Tests (91 Test for Pujara). Of course, to play that many games, they must have done well for us,” Rathour said.
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“We understand that both of them are going through a lean phase but we understand that they have both played very, very important knocks for us in the past. We are pretty sure that they are going to come back and play important knocks for us,” Rathour’s statement lacked conviction.
Rathour, who played 6 Tests and a handful of ODIs for India in 1996-97, also mentioned that the contribution of both Rahane and Pujara cannot be quantified in numbers. He was also unable to answer who will be dropped from the XI to accommodate Virat Kohli in the XI.
“Captain coming back in, that will happen in the next game and we will get to that point when we reach Mumbai. The focus is on this game and there is a day to go and a game to be won. We will get to that point when we get in Mumbai. Once we land in Mumbai, we will take that call, what our playing XI is going to be,” Rathour stated.
The second Test between India and New Zealand will be played in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai from December 3.
(PTI inputs)
