Pujara and Rahane do not have alpha-male personalities, states Nick Compton

Former English cricketer, Nick Compton recently elucidated on the need for players like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane to ‘grow into stronger personalities’. He commented extensively on the ongoing series between India and England and talked about issues like the squad changes in the Indian team as well as Joe Root’s lack of form.

Having lost the first two Tests against England at Edgbaston and Lord’s, India emerged victorious in the third game in Nottingham as they won by a whopping margin of 203 runs. The five-match Test series currently hangs in a delicate balance of 2-1 in favour of the hosts. The fourth game of the series is scheduled at to start at Southampton, on August 30.

Players may struggle with extreme methods

As reported by the Times of India, talking about major Indian batters like Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane, Compton opined, “They [Pujara and Rahane] should be allowed to grow into stronger personalities in that [Indian] dressing room. Now that Pujara and Rahane have scored runs, things will get easier for them.” Compton, in his career, has played for England in 16 Tests.

Criticizing the Indian skipper’s tendency to throw in one change too many, the 35-year old said, “India won in Nottingham and hit upon a good team balance. There is no further reason for change. It will be interesting to see if Virat make any changes [for the fourth Test]… in terms of selection, Virat makes too many changes.”

“For example, it was a baffling decision to leave Pujara out of the first Test and it showed poor insight from the team management to allow that decision. When Virat makes so many changes as captain, it cannot always be easy for other players, like Pujara or Rahane for that matter. They do not have alpha-male personalities and such players can sometimes struggle to cope with extreme methods.”

On Root’s lack of form

He felt that Joe Root is not finding his mojo due to the captaincy burden on him. He termed him as England’s best batsman while also criticising their batting order. “I also think captaincy is burdening him a bit as well. At times, I think he should be left alone to be England’s best batsman because he certainly is. However, it isn’t like England have another option at the moment. They certainly do need to rethink their batting order, especially if they continue to not get good starts,” Compton concluded.

[interaction id=”5b7fbcb4afc9e451fc1ccded”]

Keep following CricTracker for more news and updates.