‘It’s a big question actually’ - Aakash Chopra gives his take on Cheteshwar Pujara’s exclusion from BGT 2024-25 squad

Team India are all set to tour Australia for their next Test assignment as part of the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Having lost the first two Tests of the three-game series, India succumbed to a historic Test series loss, that too in their own backyard. After the third Test of the series, India will next take on Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25).

Recently, the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) took centre stage and revealed India’s squad for the upcoming series against Australia. Notably, the veteran India batter Cheteshwar Pujara was excluded from the side. It is worth noting that Pujara had been a crucial part of the Indian squad in the previous editions of the BGT, and with Pujara not being included in the upcoming series, former cricketer Aakash Chopra came forward and questioned whether India will miss the services of Pujara. 

“Are we missing Pujara? It's a big question actually. As a player, you might say that he would score these many runs and others would also score as many runs, so are you missing him that much? Maybe not, because at some stage you have to move beyond everyone. So you left Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane in such a scenario,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel. 

Change is the rule of nature: Chopra

Furthermore, Aakash Chopra talked about how team India has adopted a rather aggressive approach in Test cricket but also questioned whether the approach of playing aggressive cricket is the optimal one.

Also Read- India missed Cheteshwar Pujara's batting approach against New Zealand: Anil Kumble

"You got Shubman Gill, and Rishabh Pant started playing at No. 5. So things changed a lot. Change is the rule of nature but one thing is definitely missing. No one in this team is able to do what Cheteshwar Pujara used to do. Everyone plays the same brand of cricket, that they would attack and play aggressive cricket, and have nothing to do with a draw as they play like this only. That does not work," Chopra concluded.