I would happily see Pujara open the batting: Graeme Swann

Former England spinner Graeme Swann said that having a stunning season with Sussex will boost Cheteshwar Pujara's confidence as we advance in the rescheduled fifth Test match between India and England, which is all set to begin on July 1 at Edgbaston. 

However, Pujara has been going through a lean patch with the bat in blue as he last scored an international century way back in 2019.

Later, a poor show on the South Africa tour saw him out of the Test squad for the Sri Lanka series. However, the Indian veteran bounced back nicely with a plethora of runs in his county tenure with Sussex when most of the Indian players were playing Indian Premier League.

However, Pujara slammed four centuries in five matches, where he converted two of them into double tons also. 

He smashed 720 runs in five matches, with scores of 6, 201 not out, 109, 12, 203, 16, 170* and 3, which helped him return to the Indian side for the postponed fifth Test against England.

While replying to a News18 Cricketnext question at a select media interaction organised by Sony Sports Network, Swann has said that Pujara's recent form for Sussex will give Team India a significant advantage as he batted in the English conditions quite well when the ball swings around the most.

"Definitely having Cheteshwar Pujara played a lot of county cricket at the start of the year and did phenomenally well as he scored heaps of runs. He was phenomenal for Sussex, and I think that is a massive bonus for India. Having a player who has been in England at the start of the season when the ball swings around, scoring so heavily and used to English conditions that definitely gives him a leg up the ladder," Swann said.

On the other hand, Indian captain Rohit Sharma has tested positive for COVID-19, which also makes his participation in the fifth Test uncertain.

Graeme Swann, however, feels that India could use Cheteshwar Pujara as the opener if Rohit Sharma fails to recover in time. 

While he also stated that Mayank Agarwal, who has been called up for the Test as the reserve opener, can also be used in the middle order at number 5.

"I really like Mayank Agarwal, and he is a wonderful player. However, I don't think he is someone who has to open the batting, so I would happily see Pujara open the batting. Still, it depends on Indian selectors if they want to or not and move everyone around him," Swann concluded.