INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Pujara, a veteran of over 100 Tests, was dropped following a poor run of form after the 35-year-old scored only 211 runs in his last six
matches with one half-century to his name.Young sensation Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and pacer Mukesh Kumar received their maiden
Test call-ups.Jaiswal, who scored the fastest IPL fifty in 13 balls this season, scored 625 runs during the two-month tournament to finish
among the top five run getters while Gaikwad finished with 590 runs
Gaikwad also made headlines in November when he hammered seven sixes in an over in a first class match for his team Maharashtra
Comeback-man Ajinkya Rahane, who had a good outing in the World Test Championship Final against Australia has been re-appointed as Test
Rahane score 89 and 46 (first innings and second innings) in the WTC Final that India lost by a massive 209 runs.Along with Pujara, senior
pacer Umesh Yadav was also dropped from the Test side while pacer Navdeep Saini made a comeback.While Mohammed Shami has been given complete
rest from both Tests and ODIs after nearly three months of hectic competitive cricket, the selectors have indeed started the phasing out
process by dropping the profligate Umesh Yadav and bringing in the consistent Kolkata seamer Mukesh Kumar in the main squad.Navdeep Saini,
whose career had been on a free-fall since the historic tour of Australia, also gets a chance for resurrection as his hit-the-deck (140
clicks) bowling might be effective on the slow Caribbean tracks.All three new entrants -- Jaiswal, Gaikwad and Mukesh -- were the stand-by
players for the WTC final
They have been very consistent in domestic cricket over past few seasons.The ODI squad didn't have any major surprise with 17 members
literally picking themselves.The injured Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, whenever fit, also select themselves and together these
20 players will most likely make the core group going into the big World Cup.Rohit Sharma will continue to lead India in Tests and ODIs
while the squad for the five T20Is will be announced later.The Caribbean tour commences with the first Test from July 12-16 in Dominica
The second Test will be played in Trinidad from July 20-24.Pujara unlikely to make a comeback anytime soonWhen Pujara was dropped for the
home series against Sri Lanka along with Rahana, the former chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma had said that doors were not closed for the
gritty No.3 and he could go get back to first-class cricket and earn his stripes.Pujara went back to County Cricket and played for Sussex
He scored tons of runs and was recalled for the one-off Test against England in 2022 and also got a chance to complete 100 Tests milestone
in the series against Australia this year."Once he failed in Australia series at home, there was very little chance for him but selectors
didn't want to change things ahead of WTC final," a BCCI source in know of things told PTI on conditions of anonymity."Twin failures at Oval
SS Das was in London for WTC final
He must have had a word with head coach Rahul Dravid and intimated his panel's thought-process post final," the source added.If Pujara's
knocks of 90 and 102 against Bangladesh are taken away, he has scored at a poor average of 26 in the last three years and perhaps got a very
long rope for non-performance."It is a two-year cycle and you can't just make wholesale changes
Pujara hasn't been scoring for three years
Difference between a Virat Kohli and a Pujara has been the rhythm
Yes, Kohli also has had a dry spell but he never looked out of form."Pujara never gave you confidence after the Australia tour that he is in
The two knocks against Bangladesh were hardly of any consequence," the source said.Jaiswal, Gaikwad can both open as well as bat at No
3After he scored 213 and 144 in the Irani Cup for Rest of India against MP, the stylish Mumbai left-hander Jaiswal was expected to earn his
maiden Test call up.With a first-class average of 80.21, Jaiswal has shown that he is a special talent and needed to be fast-tracked.In
pre-IPL days, the selectors would always be wary about temperament of domestic performers at the highest level but one good thing about IPL
is a chance to test one's skills against the best in the world.Both Jaiswal and Gaikwad, who plays Maharashtra, can open and bat at number
If they forge a good combination at top in future, there is every chance that Shubman Gill can bat at the coveted No
4 position as and when Virat Kohli decides to move on."I am not saying Das' panel would think like this but a Ruturaj with his ability to
play fast bowling, despite his 40 plus average in Ranji Trophy, stands a better chance to be successful
A selector will not just look at runs."Hence a Sarfaraz Khan getting completely exposed against quick bowlers in IPL or Abhimanyu Easwaran
not scoring for Bengal in seven consecutive Ranji knock-out games (three quarter-finals, two semi-finals and two finals) also is taken into
Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), KS Bharat (wicket-keeper),
Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Mohd
Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shardul Thakur, Ravindra
Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohd
Siraj, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.(With inputs from agencies)
