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'If Selectors Think it's the End of Him, Then ...': Former India Opener On Cheteshwar Pujara's Exclusion From WI Tour

image-lji3ec2oPujara has been dropped for the WI tour [AP Photos]

Team India's Test squad selection for the upcoming West Indies Test has raised quite a lot of eyebrows within the Indian cricketing circles. While players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mukesh Kumar find themselves in the national foray, others like Cheteshwar Pujara, Sarfaraz Khan, and Abhimanyu Easwaran do not find a place with the touring party.

Pujara, who had a poor outing in India's ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final 2023 against Australia, was dropped ahead of other non-performers, which has irked several former Indian players.

Former India player WV Raman, who has also coached India Women's had quizzed selectors' decision to drop Pujara, and rope in as many as four openers for the coveted No.3 spot. 

Speaking on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel, Raman stated that Pujara deserved better treatment if selectors decide to end his career, given his stature in Indian cricket. 

Here's what Raman said

"The problem is that they have picked four possible openers, and they have dropped Pujara, which is another bone of contention. A cricketer like Pujara has done a lot for Indian cricket, and he has been instrumental for India winning both at home and abroad on quite a few occasions. He is a gritty customer. He was even elevated to vice-captaincy quite recently but a failure in the WTC final, he finds that he is left out in the cold. 

I think this is one decision that has not gone down well with many people, and I, personally, as well, I am not for it. He deserves to be treated properly. In the event, if they think it's the end of Pujara, he could have been given a better exit, but that's how things happen sometimes, and this is not the first case again. There are a lot of precedences as far as this kind of treatment is concerned."

Pujara, 35, has played 103 Tests for India, amassing 7,195 runs with 19 centuries and 45 fifties.  India's two-Test tour begins on July 12, with the first match being played in Dominica. 

The Test series will be followed by a three ODI and five T20Is series.