Batting coach Rathour backs Pujara, Rahane for the second test in Mumbai
Shreyas Iyer has had a dream debut in the longest format of the game for India. In the second inning of the match, the batter from Mumbai smashed another half-century on Sunday to become the first Indian batter to score a century and half-century in a debut match. While it looks all fun and game watching him bat to his potential, it is equally challenging for the selectors to decide which batter will make way for Virat Kohli when he returns in the next game.
The Indian team’s batting coach Vikram Rathour is the man with all the headaches. Many pundits have hinted towards dropping either Cheteshwar or the stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane to accommodate both Iyer and Kohli in the same team. Rathour, however, has different beliefs.
According to Hindustan Times, Rahour, when asked who should be in the team, backed the two veterans. He said, “I understand both of them are going through a lean phase, but they have played very very important knocks for us in the past, and we are pretty sure they will come back and play more important knocks for the team in the future as well.”
Both Rahane and Pujara are going through a very rough patch. While the stand-in captain is enduring the worst average, 39.01, since February 2014, Pujara is yet to score a century in 23 tests. His last century came in the 2018/19 historic series down under. There is no doubt that both Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have contributed on innumerable occasions to the team’s win, but with young guns ready to fire, the old ones will either have to prove their significance or make way for the new one.
