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Seasoned campaigner Cheteshwar Pujara has made a grand comeback into the Indian cricket team's squad for the rescheduled fifth Test against England that will be played in Birmingham's Edgbaston next month. The Rajkot-born cricketer was dropped from the Rohit Sharma-led side for the series against Sri Lanka in March, having performed miserably in the three-Test matches in South Africa at the start of the year. While Cheteshwar Pujara made several meaningful contributions in the past few years, his overall record had been dismal for more than 24 months. Notably, Cheteshwar Pujara, who represents India in only one format, hasn't scored a hundred in the longest format since January 2019. After being axed from Team India, the 34-year-old went to England to play County cricket for Sussex, where he regained his touch and went on to score a bagful of runs. His stats in England's domestic competition were so impressive that India's selectors were forced to include Cheteshwar Pujara in the team for the one-off Test against England. On the other hand, ex-India middle-order batter Mohammad Kaif heaped rich praise on Cheteshwar Pujara for his decision to play in the English County Championships and make a truckload of runs there.
Mohammad Kaif even claimed that Cheteshwar Pujara was a certainty at the No.3 position in the Edgbaston Test in Birmingham.
“Pujara has been in fantastic form in England and I think he might get the opportunity to bat at No. 3 while Shreyas Iyer who hasn't played an overseas Test match might have to wait for his chance,” Mohammad Kaif told Indian news outlet NDTV.
“You can learn so much from Pujara. If you get dropped, what do you have to do as a batter? You go back to County, you go back to Ranji and you score runs and runs and I mean, score tons and tons of runs. He has done that. He's an example for any young player who has been dropped and how to make a comeback. Probably you should go back to Pujara and watch what he has done in the last couple of months. He has been a fantastic player for India also. And I think he'll play No.3 for India,” Kaif added.
Mohammad Kaif, however, warned the Indians that the English team they had beaten last year was quite different from the present one.
Since last year, a lot has changed in the dressing rooms of the two sides. While Joe Root and Virat Kohli were leading India and England respectively at the time, the duo has been replaced by Ben Stokes and Rohit Sharma respectively.
Besides, England were having a difficult time out there on the field in 2021 which has changed since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over as skipper and coach.
England are currently taking on New Zealand in a three-match Test series at home and have bulldozed the Kiwis into submission, having won the first two matches quite comfortably. On both occasions, it was Joe Root who turned out to be the hero for England as he made his 26th and 27th centuries at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
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“This is a very different England side. The moment McCullum became the coach of this side, this team is playing attacking cricket, this team is chasing targets, they are not playing for a draw. The match that India won at Lord’s last year, that England team was bundled inside 50 overs, this is not that team. Root has been in fantastic form, so India will have to work hard, beating this England team won't be that easy,” Kaif explained.
In a major boost for India, England's premier fast bowler James Anderson suffered an ankle injury and was ruled out of the third Test against New Zealand which would start at Headingley on Thursday. The injury has now cast doubts if he could recover in time for the match against India.
“Unfortunately Jimmy's not pulled up as well as we would have liked him to, so Jamie Overton's going to make his debut this week,” Stokes told Sky Sports.
“It's unfortunate for Jimmy, but we've got a massive Test against India coming up as well. I'm not too sure how serious it is to be honest. He's just got a bit of a puffy ankle,” he said.
“Jamie's been very impressive, the way that he's bowled. We always want a point of difference in our side, bowling with serious pace and changing games as well,” Ben Stokes added.
The fifth and the final match of the series between England will be played in Birmingham at the Edgbaston cricket ground from July 1.
A win for the Indian team will give them their first series triumph in England in 15 years. India last won a series in the United Kingdom in 2007 when current coach Rahul Dravid was the captain of the national side.
