Cheteshwar Pujara will be a big miss in BGT, he was Indian batting unit's backbone in last two series: Hanuma Vihari

Team India is all set to tour Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Both sides will lock horns in the first Test in Perth on November 22, and Australia will hope to put in a good showing and defeat India after losing back-to-back series to the touring side. India have defeated Australia on the last two occasions when they toured down under. 

Ahead of the series, India’s Hanuma Vihari, who was part of the side’s triumph in Australia, came forward and talked about how much of a missing veteran India batter, Cheteshwar Pujara, will be for India. It is worth noting that Pujara was the highest run getter for India in 2018-19 and was influential in the next series down under as well. Highlighting the importance of Pujara in the tour to Australia, Vihari opined that the Indian team will miss having Pujara in their lineup. 

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"Pujara will a big miss. He was the backbone of the batting line-up in the last two series for Team India. He took blows, he batted time, he stayed there for a long time, he saw the new ball, he got runs. He made the job easier for the other batters coming in,” Vihari was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

"So that kind of role... who will play is a question mark for me. Currently I would say we have an attacking mode of a batting line up (the top six). All like to play their shots. Virat is the only one I feel in that batting line up who can be like a glue to the other batters,” he added.

They want experience in number 6: Vihari

Furthermore, Vihari talked about the inclusion of KL Rahul in the squad, and how important of a role the star batter could play in the BGT 2024-25. He opined that India would look to play Rahul ahead of Sarfaraz Khan due to the experience that the star batter brings to the table. 

"That's where KL Rahul's role also will be important because he is someone who's got the experience in playing in SENA countries and he can bat long. He has done well in SENA countries. I feel they are looking at KL Rahul at number 6 as well,” Vihari said. 

"By playing Rahul ahead of Sarfaraz in the current series (against Bangladesh), they are looking at a bigger picture. They want experience in number 6 when we tour Australia,” he added.