Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are not going to rip their shirt off and create a scene on being dropped: Sunil Gavaskar

Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said that Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara won’t be making a fuss about getting dropped from the national team. Pujara and Rahane have come under fire in recent times due to their inconsistent run at the highest level. In the ongoing five-match Test series against Joe Root’s England, the duo has looked out of sorts as well.

After failing in the Nottingham Test, Pujara and Rahane managed nine and one respectively in the first innings of the Lord’s Test. Rahane was India’s leading run-scorer in the inaugural World Test Championship and also top-scored for them in the final back in June. The 72-year-old Gavaskar had the back of both the out-of-form cricketers.

Sunil Gavaskar shares his opinions

“Rahane was the highest run-scorer for India at the WTC final with 49. So, nobody else has scored runs in this period, to be honest, but questions have been asked only about two cricketers. They are low-profile cricketers. They are not going to rip their shirt off and create a scene (if they are dropped),” Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar also lashed out at the coaching staff after Pujara and Rahane’s technical glitches in their batting have stayed for a prolonged time period. Gavaskar reckoned that Pujara’s shortcoming outside the off-stump has remained the same for the last eight months.

“Just let Ajinkya Rahane play. Yes, if he does not score runs here there is cause for concern but that cause for concern has to be regarding his technical abilities, with Pujara as well. The way he has got out in Australia playing down the wrong, being beaten by the outswinger nothing has changed as far as that is concerned.

“Who is the one to take care of it? There’s a staff there. If you are getting out in the same manner, then there is something wrong not just with your technique but also the guys who are supposed to help you,” he added.

Rahane has had his moments in Tests after he led India to a 2-1 series win in the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. In the same series, Pujara faced a barrage of bouncers from the bowlers and earned accolades for his grit and determination.